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THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER I. 

OUR SANATARIUM. 

SPEAKING of the great American Andes, the mineralogist 
Haiiy uses a grand expression when he calls them “The 
incommensurable parts of Creation.” 

These proud words may justly be applied to the Hima- 
layan chain, whose heights no man can measure with any 
mathematical precision. They occurred to my mind when I 
first viewed this incomparable region, in the midst of which 
Colonel Munro, Captain Hood, Banks, and myself were to 
sojourn for several weeks. 

“Not only are these mountains immeasurable,” said the 
engineer, “ but their summits must be regarded as inacces- 
sible ; for human organs cannot work at such a height, 
where the air is not dense enough for breathing ! ” 

This chain may be best described as a barrier of 
primitive granite, gneiss, and schist rocks, 1560 miles in 
VOL. II. 


B 


2 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


length, extending from the seventy-second meridian to the 
ninety-fifth, through two presidencies, Agra and Calcutta, 
and two kingdoms, Bhootan and Nepaul. It comprehends 
three distinct zones ; the first 5000 feet high, being more 
temperate than the lower plain, and yielding a harvest of 
corn in the winter, and rice in the summer ; the second, in- 
creasing from 5000 to 9000 feet, on which the snow 
melts in the spring time, and the third, rising to 25,000, 
covered with ice and snow, which even in the hot season 
defies the solar rays. 

At an elevation of 20,000 feet the mountains are pierced 
by eleven passes, which, incessantly threatened by 
avalanches, swept by torrents, and encumbered by glaciers, 
yet make it possible, though dangerous and difficult, to go 
from India to Thibet. Above this ridge, which] is some- 
times rounded and then again as flat as Table Mountain at 
the Cape of Good Hope, rise seven or eight peaks, some 
volcanic, commanding the sources of the Gogra, the 
Jumna, and the Ganges. The chief are Mounts Dookia 
and Kinchinjinga, rising to 21,000 feet ; Diodhoonga, 24,000; 
Dhawalagiri, 27,000 ; Chumalari, 28,000 ; and the highest in 
the world, Mount Everest, 29,000 feet. Such is this magni- 
ficent pile of mountains, which neither Alps, Pyrenees, nor 
Andes can excel in loftiness, and whose summits not even 
the most daring of ascensionists have ever ventured to 
assail. 



Page 2 . 


Slopes of the Himalayas 












































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OUR SANATARIUM. 


3 


The first slopes are extensively and thickly wooded. 
Here may be found different representatives of the palm 
family, which, in a higher zone, give place to vast forests of 
oaks, cypress, and pines, to rich masses of bamboos and 
herbaceous plants. 

Banks, who gave us this information, told us also that the 
snow-line is 12,000 feet lower on the Indian side of the 
chain than on the Thibetian ; the reason being that the 
vapours brought by the south winds are arrested by the 
enormous barrier. On the other side, therefore, villages 
have been established at an altitude of 15,000 feet in the 
midst of fields of barley and beautiful meadows. If you 
believe the natives, one night is sufficient for a crop of grass 
to- carpet these pastures ! 1* 

In the middle zone, peacocks, partridges, pheasants, bus- 
tards, and quails represent the winged tribe. Goats and 
sheep abound. On the highest zone we only find the wild 
boar, the chamois, the wild cat, and the eagle soars above 
the scanty vegetation, mere humble specimens of an arctic 
flora. 

But there was nothing there to tempt Captain Hood. 
Was it likely that this Nimrod would have come into the 
Himalayan region merely to continue his trade of domestic 
provider ? Fortunately for him, there was no chance that 
game worthy of his Enfield rifle, and his explosive balls, 
would be scarce. 


4 


i ; 

TIIE STEAM HOUSE. 

At the foot of the first slopes of the chain extends a zone, 
called by the natives the belt of Terrai. It is a long de- 
clivitous stretch of land, four or five miles wide, damp, 
warm, covered with vegetation and dense forests, forming 
favourite resorts for wild beasts. This Eden of the hunter 
who loves the stirring features of the chase lay but 1 500 
yards below us. It was therefore easy to enter into 
these preserves, which seemed as it were quite distinct 
grounds. 

It was more than probable that Captain Hood would 
have greater pleasure in visiting the lower than the upper 
zones of the Himalayas, although, even after the explora- 
tions of that most ill-humoured of travellers, Victor Jacque- 
mont, many important geographical discoveries remain yet 
to be made. 

“ So this important chain is only very imperfectly 
known ? ” I remarked to Banks. 

“Very imperfectly indeed,” answered the engineer. 
“The Himalayan chain may be likened to a little 
planet, stuck on to our globe, and keeping its own 
secrets.” 

“ They, have been surveyed though,” said I, “ they have 
been explored as much as is possible ! ” 

“Oh, yes! There has been no lack of Himalayan 
** travellers,” replied Banks. “Messrs. Gerard and Webb, 
the officers Kirkpatrick, Fraser, Hodgson, Herbert, Lloyd, 


OUR SANATARIUM. 


5 


Hooker, Cunningham, Strabing, Skinner, Johnson, Moor- 
croft, Thomson, Griffith, Vigne, Hiigel, the missionaries 
Hue and Gabet, and more recently the brothers Schlagen- 
tweit, Colonel Waugh, Lieutenants Reuillier and Mont- 
gomery, have, by dint of great labour, made known in large 
measure their orological arrangements. Nevertheless, my 
friends, much remains to be learnt. 

“ The exact heights of the principal peaks have given rise 
to numberless rectifications. Formerly, Dhawalagiri was 
the king of the whole chain ; then after new measurements, 
he was forced to yield the throne to Kinchinjinga, who again 
has abdicated in favour of Mount Everest. At the present 
time, the latter surpasses all its rivals. However, the 
Chinese now say that the Kuen-Lun Mountains, to which 
it is true European measurements have not been applied, sur- 
pass Mount Everest in a slight degree, and that we must no 
longer look to the Himalayas as possessing the highest 
point of our globe. 

“ But in reality these measurements must not be con- 
sidered mathematical until they have been barometrically 
obtained, and with every precaution that a direct deter- 
mination will admit of. And how is this to be done with- 
out carrying a barometer to the very top of one of these 
inaccessible peaks? Of course no one has yet accom- 
plished this.” 

“ It will be done,” answered Captain Hood, “ just as some 



6 THE STEAM HOUSE. 

1 ' V / „ 

day voyages will be made to both the north and south 
pole ! ” 

“ Evidently ! ” 

“ Or an exploring party to the lowest depths of old 
Ocean.” 

“ Doubtless.” 

“ Or a journey to the centre of the earth ? ” 

“ Bravo, Hood ! ” 

“ As everything will be done ! ” I added. 

“ Even an aerial voyage to each of the planets of the 
solar system ! ” rejoined Hood, whom nothing daunted. 

“ No, captain,” I replied. “ Man, a mere inhabitant of the 
earth, cannot overstep its boundaries ! But though he is 
confined to its crust, he may penetrate into all its secrets.” 

“He can, he must!” cried Banks. “All that is within 
the limits of possibility may and shall be accomplished. 
Then when man has nothing more to discover in the globe 
which he inhabits — ” 

“ He will disappear with the spheroid which has no longer 
any mysteries concealed from him,” put in Captain Hood. 

“Not so!” returned Banks. “He will enjoy it as a 
master, and will derive far greater advantages from it. But, 
friend Hood, now that we are in the Himalayan country, I 
wish to tell you of a curious discovery which you may make, 
amongst others, and which will certainly interest you.” 

“What is it about, Banks ? ” 

. 


OUR ^ANATARIUM. 


" In the account of his travels, the missionary Hue speaks 
of a singular tree which is called in Thibet ‘ the tree of ten 
thousand pictures.’ According to the Hindoo legend, Tong 
Kabac, the reformer of the Buddhist religion, was changed 
into a tree, some thousand years after the same adventure 
happened to Philemon, Baucis, and Daphne, those curious 
vegetable beings of the mythological flora. The hair of 
Tong Kabac became the foliage of this sacred tree, and on 
the leaves are — the missionary declares he saw it with his 
own eyes — Thibetian characters, distinctly to be traced in 
the veins.” 

“ A tree producing printed leaves ! ” I exclaimed. 

“And, moreover, on which you may read the purest and 
most moral sentences,” continued the engineer. 

“ That would be well worth the trouble of proving,” said 
I, laughing. 

“ Prove it, then, my friends,” answered Banks. “ If these 
trees exist in the southern part of Thibet, they surely are 
to be found in the upper zone, on the southern slopes of 
the Himalayas. During your excursions, then, you can 
be on the look-out for this — what shall I call it? — this 


maxim-tree.” 

“No, by Jove!” returned Captain Hood. “I came 
here to hunt, and have not the smallest intention of doing 
anything in the climbing line.” 

“Well, my dear fellow,” resumed Banks, “a daring 


8 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


climber like you ought to make some ascent in all this 
great chain.” 

“ Never ! ” exclaimed the captain. 

“ Why not ? ” 

“ I have renounced ascents ! ” 

“ Since when ? ” 

“ Since the day when, after having risked my life twenty > 
times,” answered Captain Hood, “ I managed to reach the 
summit of Vrigel, in the kingdom of Bhootan. It was 
said that no human being had ever set foot on the top of 
that peak ! There was glory to be gained ! my honour 
was at stake ! Well, after no end of narrow squeaks for it, 

I got to the top, and what did I see but these words cut 
on a rock : ‘ Durand, dentist, 14, Rue Caumartin, Paris ! * 

I climb no more ! ” 

The honest captain ! I must confess that, while telling 
us of his discomfiture, Hood looked so comical, that it was 
impossible to help joining him in a hearty laugh. 

I have several times spoken of the “ sanatariums ” of the 
peninsula. These resorts in the mountains are much 
frequented during the summer by landowners, officers, and 
merchants, who are scorched by the glowing heat of the 
plains. 

In the first rank we must name Simla, situated on the 
thirty-first parallel, and to the west of the seventy-fifth 
meridian. It is like a little bit of Switzerland, with its torrents, 


OUR SANATARIUM. 


9 


its streams, its chalets, pleasantly situated under the shade of 
cedars and pines, 6000 feet above the level of the sea. 

After Simla, I must mention Darjeeling, with its pretty 
white houses, overlooked by Mount Kinchinjinga, 312 miles 
to the north of Calcutta, 6900 feet above the level of the 
sea, about the eighty-sixth degree of longitude, and the 
twenty-seventh degree of latitude— a charming situation, 
in the most beautiful country in the world. 

Other sanatariums there are at different points of the 
Himalayan chain. 

And now to these fresh and healthy stations, rendered 
indispensable by the burning climate of India, was added 
our Steam House. But it belonged to ourselves alone. 
It offered all the comforts of the most luxurious dwellings 
on the peninsula. Here, in this delicious climate, sur- 
rounded by all the necessaries and appliances of modern 
life, we dwelt in an atmosphere of quietness which we 
might have sought for in vain at Simla or Darjeeling, where 
there are swarms of Anglo-Indians. 

The site for our sanatarium was judiciously chosen. The 
road, leaving the lower part of the mountain, diverged at 
this point both to the east and to the west, so as to connect 
several scattered villages. The nearest of these hamlets 
was five miles from Steam House. It was occupied by a 
hospitable race of mountaineers, who rear* goats and sheep, 
and cultivate rich fields of wheat and barley. 


10 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Thanks to our able staff of attendants and Banks’ 
directions, a few hours saw the encampment arranged in 
which we were to pass six or seven weeks. 

One of the spurs supporting the great framework of the 
Himalayas formed a gently undulating plateau, nearly 
a mile in length, and half a mile in width. This was 
covered with a thick carpet of short, close, velvety grass, 
dotted all over with violets. Clusters of beautiful rhodo- 
dendrons, as large as small oaks, and natural arbours of 
camellias, gave a gay and garden-like aspect to the scene. 
Nature had had no need to call in the aid of workmen 
from Ispahan or Smyrna, to manufacture this vegetable 
carpet. Several million seeds, brought by the sweet South 
breezes to the fertile ground, a little rain, a little sunshine, 
and there lay the green, soft fabric ! 

At least a dozen groups of magnificent trees gave shade 
to the plateau. They looked like parties of skirmishers 
thrown out from the main body — the immense forest which 
clothed the sides of the spur, and the neighbouring heights, 
eighteen hundred feet above us. Cedars, oaks, the long- 
leaved pendanus, beech-trees, maples, mingled with bananas, 
bamboos, magnolias, locust-trees, and Japan fig-trees. Some 
of these giants reared their lofty heads more than a hundred 
feet above the soil. They looked quite as if planted on 
purpose to shelter some woodland dwelling, so the arrival of 
Steam House was well timed. 



Page io. 


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OUR SANATARIUM. 


I 


The fanciful roofs of the two pagodas matched well with 
the varied foliage, flowers gay as butterflies, and leaves, some 
small and delicate, others large and long, and shaped like 
the paddle of a canoe. The train was quite hidden by all this 
rich verdure ; nothing showed that it was a moving house 
— it looked fixed to the ground, and as if nothing could 
induce it to stir. 

In the background roared a torrent, whose course could 
be traced by its silvery gleam many hundred feet, as it 
descended the mountain-side. It flowed down the right 
slope of the spur, and plunged, at no great distance from 
us, into a natural basin, overhung by splendid trees. 

The overflow from this basin formed a stream, which, 
running across our plateau, ended in a noisy cascade, which 
dashed itself finally into a bottomless gulf. 

From this description it may be seen how favourably 
Steam House was situated, both for comfort for the body 
and pleasure for the eye. Below us lay other and lesser 
crests, descending in gigantic steps to the' plain. All this 
we could see from our high place of observation. 

Number One of Steam House was placed so that the 
view to the south might be seen from the verandah as well 
as from the side windows of the drawing and dining rooms. 
Over ns “ a cedar spread his dark-green layers of shade,” 
contrasting with the eternal snow which glittered on the 
distant mountain peaks. 


12 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


On the left, Number Two stood close to an enormous 
granite rock, gilded by the sun. This rock, as much by its 
strange shape as by its warm colour, reminded us of the 
gigantic plum-pudding stones, of which M. Russell-Killough 
speaks in his account of his journey across Southern 
India. 

This, our attendants’ house, was placed about twenty feet 
from the principal dwelling. From the end of one of its 
roofs curled upwards a little stream of blue-grey smoke, 
showing the position of Monsieur Parazard’s culinary 
laboratory. 

In the midst of the trees which lay between the two 
habitations might be seen a huge mastodon. It was 
Behemoth, standing under a great beech-tree, with his 
trunk upraised, as if browsing on the branches. He, too, 
was stationary now ; resting, albeit he had no need of rest 
However, there he stood, resolute defender of Steam House, 
like some enormous antediluvian animal, guarding the 
way. 

Colossal as we had always thought our elephant, now 
that he stood before the everlasting hills, he, the handiwork 
of puny man, faded into insignificance. 

“ Like a fly on the facade of a cathedral ! ” remarked 
Captain Hood contemptuously. 

The comparison was good. Here, behind us, was a 
block of granite, from which a thousand elephants the size 


OUR SANATAR1UM. 


13 


of ours might have been carved, and this block was but a 
simple step in the stair which leads up and up to the top- 
most crest crowned by the peak of Dhawalagiri. 

At times, when the sky lowers, not only the highest 
summits, but the lower crests, disappear. This is caused 
by thick vapours sweeping across the middle zone, and 
veiling all the upper part. The landscape shrinks, and 
then, by an optical effect, it is as if the houses, the trees, 
the rocks, and Behemoth himself, resumed their natural size. 

When certain moist winds blow, the clouds often roll 
below the plateau. The eye then rests on nothing but a sea 
of clouds, illumined here and there by the sun’s rays. 
All land both above and beneath vanishes, and we feel as 
if transported into some aerial region, beyond the earth. 

Suddenly the wind changes. A northern breeze blows 
through the mountain gulleys, the fog is swept away, the 
cloudy sea disappears as if by magic, the grand rocks and 
peaks stand out again, and once more our view extends 
over a panorama of sixty miles. 


14 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER II. 

MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 

At daybreak on the 26th of June, the jovial tones of a well- 
known voice aroused me from my slumbers. Captain Hood 
and his man Fox were engaged in lively conversation in the 
dining-room, where I soon joined them. 

At the same moment Banks made his appearance, upon 
which the captain greeted him with, — 

“ Well, Banks, here we are at last, arrived in safety. It’s 
a positive halt this time. Not a mere stoppage for an hour 
or two, but a stay of some months.” 

“Very true, my dear Hood,” replied the engineer, “now 
you can arrange your hunting excursions as you please. 
Behemoth’s whistle won’t hurry you back to camp.” 

“ Do you hear, Fox ? ” 

“ Ay, ay, captain,” answered the man. 

“ St. Hubert be my speed ! ” cried Hood. “ I vow 
I won’t leave this sanatarium, as you call it, until the 
fiftieth is added to my list ! The fiftieth, Fox ! I have 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


15 


an idea that that fellow will be particularly hard to get 
hold of.” 

“He will be got, though,” put in Fox. 

“ What has put that idea into yoilr head, captain ? ” I 
asked. 

“ Oh, Maucler, it is merely a presentiment — a sportsman’s 
presentiment, nothing more.” 

“ Well, then,” said Banks, “ from to-day, I suppose, you 
will leave the encampment, to commence the cam- 
paign ? ” 

“From to-day,” answered Captain Hood, “we shall 
begin by reconnoitring the ground, so as to explore the 
lower zone, by descending into the Terrai. Provided the 
tigers have not abandoned their residences.” 

“ Can you imagine such a thing ? ” 

“ Remember ! my bad luck ! ” 

“ Bad luck ! — in the Himalayas ! ” returned the engineer. 
“ Would that be possible ? ” 

“ Well, we shall see ! You will accompany us, Maucler ? ” 
asked Captain Flood, turning to me. 

“ Yes, certainly.” 

“ And you, Banks ? ” 

“ I also/’ replied the engineer ; “ and I fancy too that 
Munro will join you, like myself, — as an amateur.” 

“ Oh,” returned Hood, “ come as amateurs if you like, 
but you must be amateurs well armed. It would never do 


6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


to walk about with nothing but sticks in your hands. The 
very wild beasts would hide themselves for shame. , ' > 

“ Agreed, then,” said the engineer. 

“ Now, Fox,” continued the captain, addressing his ser- 
vant, “ no mistakes this time, please. We are in the tiger 
country. Four Enfield rifles for the colonel, Mr. Banks, 
Monsieur Maucler, and myself ; two guns loaded with 
explosive ball for yourself and Goumi.” 

“ Don’t be afraid, captain,” replied Fox. “ The game 
shan’t have any reason to complain, I warrant you.” 

This day was to be devoted to reconnoitring the forest 
which clothed the lower part of the Himalayas, below our 
sanatarium. 

About eleven o’clock, therefore, Sir Edward Munro, 
Banks, Hood, Fox, Goumi, , and myself, all well armed, 
descended the road which slanted towards the plain, taking 
care to leave behind our two dogs, whose services were not 
required in an expedition of this sort. 

Sergeant McNeil remained in camp with Storr, Kalouth, 
and the cook, to complete the arrangements. After his 
two months’ journey, Behemoth required to be examined 
both inside and out, cleaned, and put in order. This was, 
of course, a long, minute, and delicate operation, which 
would give his usual keepers, the driver and stoker, occu- 
pation for some time. 

Soon after leaving our camp, a turn of the road quite hid 



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Page i6* 












MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


17 

Steam House, which disappeared from our sight, behind a 
thick curtain of trees. 

It no longer rained. A fresh wind blew from the north- 
east, driving the hurrying clouds before it. The sky was 
overcast, and the temperature consequently suitable for 
pedestrians, but we missed the pretty variations of light 
and shade which add such a charm to woodland scenery. 

The six thousand feet down a direct road would have 
been but an affair of five-and-twenty or thirty minutes, but 
it was lengthened by the windings it took to avoid steep 
places. It took us not less than an hour and a half to 
reach the outskirts of the forest, but we all enjoyed the 
walk. 

“Attention ! ” exclaimed Captain Hood. “We are now 
entering the domain of tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, and 
other interesting inhabitants of the Himalayan region. It 
is very exciting to destroy wild beasts, but it wouldn’t be 
quite so pleasant to be destroyed by them ! Therefore, do 
not stray away from each other, and be prudent.” 

Such advice from the lips of so bold a hunter was of con- 
siderable value, and we respected it accordingly. We 
all looked to the loading of our guns, and kept our eyes 
open. 

I may add that we not only had to be on our guard 
against wild beasts, but against serpents also, as the most 
dangerous of theirspecies infest the Indian forests. Belon- 

VOL. II. C 


8 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


gas, green serpents, whip snakes are frightfully venomous. 
The number of victims who succumb annually to the bite 
of these reptiles is five or six times greater than that of 
domestic animals or human beings who are killed by wild 
beasts. 

In this region it was no more than the commonest pru- 
dence required, to look where you set your foot, or placed 
your hand, to keep your ears open for the slightest rustle in 
the grass or bushes, and your eyes, as much as possible, 
everywhere at once. 

At half-past twelve we were well into the forest. The 
great trees formed wide alleys through which even Behe- 
moth and his train might have passed with ease. Indeed, 
this part of the forest had been partially cleared by the 
hill-men, as we ascertained from the marks their carts had 
left in the soft clayey ground. The principal alleys ran 
parallel with the mountain chain, along the greatest length 
of the Terrai, connecting the glades formed by the wood- 
man’s axe, and with more narrow paths which led off from 
them, and ended in impenetrable thickets. 

We followed these avenues, more like surveyors than 
sportsmen, so as to ascertain their general direction. No 
roar or scream broke the silence of the woods ; but great 
footprints, plainly recent, showed that wild beasts had 
not deserted the Terrai. 

Suddenly, just as we were turning an angle formed by 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


19 


the hill, an exclamation from Captain Hood brought us all 
to a standstill. 

Twenty paces from us was a construction most peculiar 
in its shape. It was not a house, for it had neither chimney 
nor windows. 

It was not a hunter’s lodge, for it had neither loopholes 
nor embrasures. It might rather have been taken for a 
native tomb, lost in the depths of the forest. 

Imagine a sort of long cube, formed of trunks placed 
vertically side by side, fixed firmly in the ground, and con- 
nected with the upper part by a thick border of boughs. 
For a roof, other transverse trunks were strongly mortised 
into the walls. Evidently the builder of this edifice had 
determined to make it proof against anything. It was nearly 
six feet high, and twelve feet by five in length and width. 
There was no sign of any opening, unless one was hidden by a 
thick beam, of which the rounded top rose a little above the 
rest of the building. Above the roof were several long 
flexible tendrils, curiously arranged and tied together. 
At the extremity of a horizontal lever, which supported all 
this, hung a running knot, or rather noose, made of a thick 
twist of creepers. 

“ Hallo, what’s that ? ” I exclaimed. 

“ That,” answered Banks, after examining it well, “ is 
simply a mouse-trap, and I leave you, my friends, to guess 
what sort of mice it is destined to catch.” 


C 2 


20 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“A tiger-trap ? ” asked Hood. 

“Yes,” replied Banks, “ a tiger- trap. You see the door 
is closed by that beam, which was kept up by those ten- 
drils, and which must have dropped when the inner weight 
was touched by some animal.” 

“ It is the first time,” said Hood, “that I ever saw a 
snare of that kind in an Indian forest. A mouse-trap, indeed ! 
But it isn’t worthy of a sportsman.” 

“ Nor of a tiger,” added Fox. 

“No doubt,” said Banks, “but when it is a question of 
destroying these ferocious animals, and not merely hunting 
them for pleasure, the best trap is the one which catches 
most. Now this appears to me most ingeniously arranged 
to attract and detain wild creatures, however sly and strong 
they may be.” 

“Allow me to remark, my friends,” said Colonel Munro, 
“ that since the equilibrium of the weight which holds back 
the door of the trap has been disturbed, the probability is 
that some animal is taken in it.” 

“We shall soon know that,” cried Captain Hood, “and 
if the mouse is not dead — ” 

The captain, giving forced to his words, put his gun at full 
cock. All followed his example. 

We had no doubt now that the erection before us was a 
trap, which, if it was not the work of a native, at any rate 
was a very practical engine of destruction, being extremely 
sensitive and uncommonly strong. 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


21 


Our arrangements made, Captain Hood, Fox, and 
Goumi approached and marched round the snare, examin- 
ing it minutely. 

Not the smallest chink, however, gave them the least 
glimpse into the interior. 

They listened attentively. Not a sound betrayed the 
presence of any living creature. All was silent as the 
grave. 

Hood and his companions came round again to the front. 
They ascertained that the beam slid up and down in two 
wide vertical grooves. It was only necessary, therefore, to 
raise this, and the entrance would be open. 

“ There’s not the slightest sound,” said Captain Hood, 
with his ear close against the door, “ not even a breath. 
The mouse-trap is empty ! ” 

“ Never mind that, you must be careful,” and saying this, 
Colonel Munro seated himself on the trunk of a fallen tree 
to the left of the clearing. I placed myself beside him. 

“ Come, Goumi,” said the captain. 

Goumi, with his supple, well-knit frame, active as a 
monkey, lithe as a leopard, a regular native acrobat, under- 
stood directly what was required of him. His natural 
adroitness designed him for the service the captain wished 
done. One spring, and he was on the roof, and grasping 
one of the rods. Then he crept along the lever till he 
reached the rope of creepers, and by his weight brought it 
down to the beam which closed the opening. 


22 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The loop was then passed over the head of the beam in 
a notch made for the purpose. All that now remained to 
be done was to move it by weighing down the other end of 
the lever. 

The united strength of our little party was required for 
this, so Colonel Munro, Banks, Fox, and I proceeded to the 
back of the trap. 

Goumi remained on the roof to look after the lever, in 
case anything prevented it from working freely. 

“ I say, you fellows/’ shouted Captain Hood, “ if you 
want me, I will come ; but if you can do without me, I would 
prefer to stop where I am, near the opening. If a tiger 
pops out, he shall be saluted with one shot, at any 
rate!” 

“ And will that count for your forty-second ? ” asked I. 

“ Why not ? ” answered Hood. “ If I shoot him, he will 
have fallen in freedom.” 

“ Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched,” 
said the engineer. 

“Especially when the chicken may turn out to be a 
tiger,” added the colonel. 

“ Now, my friends,” cried Banks, “ all together.” 

The beam was heavy, and did not run easily in the 
grooves ; we managed, however, to move it just a foot from 
the ground, but then it stuck. 

Captain Hood, with his gun at full cock, bent down, 








Page 23 . 


Nothing to be seen 








MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


23 


expecting to see some huge paw or nose poking out. 
Nothing was to be seen. 

“ Once more ! ” cried Banks. 

Goumi now gave a jerk or two to the lever, and the beam 
again moved up. Gradually the opening became large 
enough to give passage even to an animal of great size. 

But no creature of any description appeared. 

It was possible, after all, that owing to the noise made 
around the trap, the prisoner might have retreated into the 
farthest corner of his prison. He might perhaps be waiting 
for a favourable opportunity to spring out, overturn any- 
thing that opposed him, and disappear in the depths of the 
forest. 

It was very exciting. 

At last I saw Captain Hood step forward, his finger on 
the trigger, and cast a keen glance into the interior of the 
snare. 

The beam was by this time completely raised, and the 
sunlight streamed freely into the building. 

At that moment, a slight rustle was heard inside, then a 
great snore, or rather a tremendous yawn which had a very 
suspicious sound. 

Evidently an animal was in there, which had been fast 
asleep and was now awaking. 

Captain Hood advanced still nearer, and pointed his' gun 
at a dark object which he now saw moving in a corner. 


24 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Suddenly a cry of terror burst forth, followed imme- 
diately by these words, spoken in good English, — 

“ Don’t fire ! For heaven’s sake, donT fire ! ” 

The man who uttered them ran out. 

Our astonishment was such that our hands left their 
grasp of the lever, and the beam fell again with a dull 
sound before the opening. 

In the meantime, the personage who had so unexpectedly 
made his appearance, came up to Captain Hood, whose 
gun was aimed full at the stranger’s breast, and in a some- 
what affected tone, accompanied by an emphatic gesture, 
“ I beg you will lower your weapon, sir,” he said. “ It is 
no tiger that you have to deal with.” 

Captain Hood, after some hesitation, returned his rifle to 
a less threatening position. 

“ Whom have I the honour of addressing ? ” asked Banks, 
advancing in his turn. 

“ The naturalist Mathias van Guitt, purveyor of pachy- 
dermata, tardigrades, plantigrades, proboscidate animals, 
carnivora, and other mammalia for the house of Mr. 
Charles Rice of London, and Messrs. Hagenbeek of Ham- 
burg.” 

Then indicating us by a comprehensive wave of the 
arm, — “ These gentlemen — ? ” 

“ Are Colonel Munro and his travelling companions,” 
answered Banks. 



The naturalist Mathias van Guitt introducing himself. 

Page 24 . 






I 
































































































MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


25 


“Taking a walk in the Himalayan forest,” resumed the 
purveyor. “ A charming excursion indeed. I am happy to 
pay my respects to you, gentlemen.” 

Who could this original be, whom we had met in such 
a strange way ? He looked rather as if his wits had gone 
astray during his imprisonment in the tiger-trap. Was he 
mad, or was he in possession of his senses ? Lastly, to 
what order of bimana did this individual belong ? 

We were about to ascertain all this, and we were destined 
eventually to learn to know well this singular person, who 
with perfect truth termed himself a naturalist. 

Mathias van Guitt, menagerie purveyor, was a spectacled 
man of about fifty. His smooth face, his twinkling eyes, 
his turned-up nose, the perpetual stir of his whole person, 
his exaggerated gestures, suited to each of the sentences 
which issued from his wide mouth, all combined to make 
him a perfect type of the old provincial comedian. Who 
has not, at some time or another, met one of these ancient 
actors, whose whole existence, limited by a horizon of 
foot-lamps and drop-scene, has been passed between the 
green-room and stage of a theatre ? Indefatigable talkers, 
worrying gesticulators, always striking some theatrical atti- 
tude or other, and the head, which is too empty at old age 
to have ever had much in it, carried high in air, and thrown 
a little back. There was certainly something of the old 
actor in Mathias van Guitt. 


2 6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


I have heard an amusing anecdote about a poor wretch 
of a singer, who prided himself on always suiting his actions 
to the words of his part. 

Thus, in the opera of “ Masaniello,” when he sung, — 

“ If of a Neapolitan fisher . . .” 

his right arm, extended towards the audience, would shake 
as if he held at the end of a line the fish which had just 
swallowed his hook. Then continuing, — 

“ Heaven wish’d to make a monarch,” 
whilst one hand was raised towards the roof to indicate 
Heaven, the other, tracing a circle around his proudly-set 
head, denoted a royal crown. 

“ Rebelling against the decrees of destiny,” 
his whole body seemed strongly to resist some unseen 
agency which almost threw him backwards. 

“He would say as he steer’d his bark ...” 

Then his two arms, quickly brought from left to right, and 
from right to left, as if moving the scull, showed his skill in 
guiding a boat. 

Well, these gestures, customary with the singer in ques- 
tion, were very similar to those used by Mathias van Guitt. 
His language was always composed of the choicest terms, 
and he was sometimes rather annoying to his inter- 
locutors if they could not keep beyond the radius of his 
gestures. 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


27 


As we learnt later, from his own mouth, Mathias van 
Guitt was formerly Professor of Natural History in the 
Rotterdam Museum, but did not succeed in his teaching. 
The worthy man was doubtless a subject for much 
laughter, and though pupils flocked to his chair, it was to 
amuse themselves, not to learn. In short, circumstances 
induced him to leave his wearisome, unsuccessful teaching 
of theoretical zoology, and take to practical zoology in the 
East Indies. This sort of trade suited him better, and he 
became the agent of important firms in London and 
Hamburg, who provide both public and private menageries 
in the two worlds. 

A large order from Europe for wild beasts had now 
brought him into the Terrai. Indeed, his camp was not 
more than a couple of miles from the trap out of which we 
had just extricated him. 

But how had the purveyor got into the snare ? This 
Banks soon asked, and the reply was made in high-flown 
language, adorned with various gestures. 

“ It was yesterday. Already had the sun completed 
half his daily round, when the thought occurred to me that 
I would go and visit one of the tiger-traps erected in the 
forest. I therefore quitted my kraal, which I trust you will 
honour with a visit, gentlemen, and soon reached this 
clearing. My servants were attending to some urgent 
work, and I did not wish to disturb them. It was impru- 


28 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


dent, I confess. When I arrived before this snare, I 
observed that the moveable beam was raised. From this I 
drew the logical conclusion that no wild animal had 
allowed itself to be taken in it. However, wishing to 
ascertain if the bait was still in its place, and if the work- 
ing of the weight was in good order, I, with a quick move- 
ment, insinuated my body through the narrow aperture.” 

Here the hand of Mathias van Guitt imitated the 
graceful undulations of a serpent as it glides through the 
long grass. 

“ When I reached the other side of the trap,” he con- 
tinued, “ I examined the quarter of a goat, the emanations 
from which were to attract guests to partake of it from 
this part of the forest. The bait was intact. I was about 
to withdraw, when an involuntary blow from my arm dis- 
placed the weight, the rope became loose, the beam fell, 
and I found myself taken in my own snare, without any 
possible means of escape.” 

Mathias van Guitt paused a moment to allow us to take 
in all the gravity of the situation. 

“Yet, gentlemen,” he resumed, “I will not conceal from 
you, that I was first of all struck by the comic view of the 
matter. I was imprisoned, well ! There was no gaoler to 
open the door of my dungeon, granted ! But I thought 
indeed, that my people, finding that I did not reappear at 
the kraal, would become uneasy at my prolonged absence 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


29 


and commence a search which sooner or later would end 
in my being discovered. It was but an affair of time. 

‘ Stone walls do not a prison make, 

Nor iron bars a cage ; 

Minds innocent and quiet take 
That for an hermitage/ 

I consoled myself with these thoughts, and the hours 
passed away without anything occurring to modify my 
situation. The shades of evening fell, and pangs of hunger 
made themselves felt. I imagined the best thing I could 
do would be to cheat time by sleeping. I resigned myself 
then philosophically, and was soon in the arms of Morpheus. 
The night was calm, and silence reigned throughout the 
forest. Nothing troubled my slumber, and perhaps I 
should even now be oblivious, if it had not been that I was 
awakened by an unusual noise. The door of the trap rose 
slowly, the blessed light of day streamed into my darksome 
retreat, the way of escape was open before me ! What 
was my dismay, when I perceived the instrument of death 
aimed full at my heart ! A moment more, and I should 
have been stretched lifeless on the ground ! The hour of 
my deliverance would have been the last of my life! 
But the gallant captain soon recognized in me a creature 
of his own species. And I have still to thank you, 
gentlemen, for having restored to me my liberty.” 

Such was our new friend’s account of himself. It must 


30 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


be acknowledged that we had some difficulty in keeping 
our gravity, so absurd were his tone and gestures. 

“ So, sir,” said Banks, “ your camp is established in this 
part of the Terrai ? ” 

“Yes, sir,” replied Mathias van Guitt. “As I had the 
pleasure of informing you, my kraal is not more than two 
miles from here, and if you will honour it with your pre- 
sence, I shall be happy to receive you there.” 

“ Certainly, Mr. van Guitt,” answered Colonel Munro, 
“ we will come and pay you a visit.” 

“We are hunters,” added Captain Hood, “and the 
arrangements of a kraal will interest us.” 

“ Hunters ! ” cried Mathias van Guitt, “ hunters ! ” 

And his countenance betrayed that he held the sons of 
Nimrod in very moderate estimation. 

“You hunt wild beasts— for the sake of killing them, 
doubtless ? ” he resumed, addressing the captain. 

“ Only to kill them,” replied Hood. 

“And I only to catch them,” answered the purveyor, 
with evident pride. 

“Well, Mr. van Guitt, we shan’t agree upon that point,” 
said Captain Hood. 

The purveyor shook his head. The discovery of our hunt- 
ing propensities was not, however, of importance enough 
to make him withdraw his invitation. “When you are 
ready to follow me, gentlemen,” said he, bowing gracefully. 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


31 


But as he spoke, voices were heard in the distance, and 
very soon half-a-dozen natives appeared at the other end of 
the glade. 

“ Ah ! here are my people,” said Van Guitt. 

Then approaching us closer, and placing his finger on 
his lips, — 

“Not a word of my adventure ! ” he whispered. “ The 
attendants and servants of the kraal must not know that I 
have been caught in my own trap like some common animal ! 
It would lessen the reputation for wisdom which I endea- 
vour to preserve in their eyes.” 

Our sign of acquiesence reassured the purveyor. 

“ Master,” said one of the natives, whose impassible and 
intelligent countenance attracted my attention ; “ master, 
we have been searching for you for more than an hour, 
without—” 

“ I was with these gentlemen, who wish to accompany 

me to the kraal,” answered Van Guitt. “ But before quit- 

% 

ting the clearing, the trap must be put in order.” 

Whilst the natives were proceeding to obey their 
master’s orders, Mathias van Guitt invited us to visit the 
interior of the trap. 

Captain Hood entered with alacrity, and I followed. 

The space was somewhat limited for the display of our 
host’s gestures, but he nevertheless did the honours as though 
it were a drawing-room. 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


32 

“I congratulate you,” said Hood, after examining the 
apparatus. “ It is exceedingly well contrived.” 

“I do not hesitate to say that it is, captain,” replied 
Van Guitt. “This description of snare is infinitely pre- 
ferable to the ditches set with stakes of hardened wood, or 
the flexible branches of trees bent together so as to form a 
running knot. In the first case, the animal is impaled on 
the sharp points ; in the second, it is strangled. That, of 
course, matters little when the object is merely to kill and 
destroy. But I who now speak to you must procure the 
living creature intact, with not the slightest blemish.” 

“ Certainly,” said Captain Hood; “we do not proceed in 
the same way.” 

“Mine is perhaps the best,” said the purveyor. “ If you 
were to consult the animals themselves — ” 

“But I have no intention of consulting them,” replied the 
captain. 

Mathias van Guitt and Captain Hood would have some 
trouble in getting on together, most decidedly. 

“ Now when the animals are caught in the trap,” I asked, 
“ what do you do next ? ” 

“A rolling cage is brought close to the trap,” replied 
Van Guitt, “ the prisoners run into it of their own accord, 
and then all I have to do is to convey them to the kraal, 
drawn at a slow and steady pace by my domestic 
buffaloes.” 



























































* 










































« 


























Colonel Munro’s narrow escane. 


P*g* 33 - 













MATHIAS VAN GUITT. 


33 


Scarcely were these words uttered when cries arose out- 
side. 

Captain Hood and I immediately hastened out of the 
building. 

What had happened ? 

A whip-snake, of the most venomous species, lay on the 
ground, cut in two pieces by a rod which one of the 
natives held in his hand, just as it was darting at the 
colonel. 

The man was the one I had at first remarked, and his 
rapid intervention had certainly saved Sir Edward from 
immediate death, as we soon saw. 

The cry we had heard was uttered by another of the 
servants, who now lay on the grass in the agonies of 
death. 

By a deplorable fatality, the head of the snake, as it was 
severed from the body, had bounded against the unfor- 
tunate man’s chest, its fangs had entered him, and pene- 
trated by the subtle poison, in less than a minute he was 
dead, all help proving unavailing. 

Rousing ourselves from the horror caused by this dread- 
ful sight, we ran up to Colonel Munro. 

“You are not hurt?” exclaimed Banks, grasping his 
hand. 

“No, Banks, no, make yourself easy,” answered Sir 
Edward. 


VOL. II. 


D 


34 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Then advancing towards the native, to whom he owed 
his life. 

“ I thank you, friend,” he said. 

The native made a sign as if to say that no thanks were 
necessary, for that. 

“ What is your name ? ” asked the colonel. 

“ Kalagani,” answered the Hindoo. 


THE KRAAL. 


35 


CHAPTER III. 

THE KRAAL. 

The death of this unfortunate man made a deep impression 
upon us, both from the fact itself and from the cause, 
though it was anything but an unusual occurrence. It was 
but one more added to the thousands who annually fall 
victims in India to the formidable reptiles . 1 

It has been said, — -jestingly I presume, — that formerly 
there were no snakes in Martinique, but that the English 
imported them when they were obliged to give up the 
island to IAance. The French had no occasion to retaliate 
in this manner when they yielded their conquests in India, 
for nature had shown herself only too prodigal in that 
respect. 

Under the influence of the venom, the body of the Hindoo 
began to exhibit signs of rapid decomposition. A speedy 
burial was necessary. His companions, therefore, set to 

1 In 1 877, 1677 human beings perished from snake-bites. The 
rewards paid by Government for the destruction of these reptiles show 
that in the same year 127,295 were killed. 

D 2 


36 


TIIE STEAM HOUSE. 


work, and soon laid him in a grave deep enough to 
protect the body from wild beasts. 

When this sad ceremony was ended, Mathias van Guitt 
invited us to accompany him to his kraal, and we readily 
did so. 

Half an hour’s walk brought us to the place, which 
deserved its name of “ kraal, though it is a word more 
especially used by the settlers of South Africa. 

It was a wide enclosure, standing in a glade in the depths 
of the forest. Mathias van Guitt had arranged it with a 
perfect understanding of the requirements of his trade. A 
row of high palisades, having a gate wide enough to admit 
carts, surrounded it on the four sides. Inside was a long 
hut, made of trunks of trees and planks, which was the 
dwelling-place. 

Six cages, divided into several compartments, and each 
mounted on four wheels, were drawn up in the left end of 
the enclosure. From the roars which issued from them, we 
concluded they were not untenanted. 

To the left were penned a dozen buffaloes, which were fed 
on the mountain grass. These were the animals used to 
draw the travelling menagery. Six men, who attended to 
these creatures and drove the carts, and ten others who 
were especially skilful in the chase, completed the staff of 
attendants in the kraal. 

The carters were hired only for the duration of the 



m 


The kraal in the depths of the forest 


Page 36 , 







V 




THE KRAAL. 


3 / 


campaign. Their services ended by driving the carts to 
the nearest railway-station. There the cages were placed 
on trucks, and wheeled off, via Allahabad, to Bombay or 
Calcutta. 

The hunters, who were Hindoos, are called “ shikarries.” 
They were employed to discover and follow up the traces 
of animals, dislodge them, and then assist in their 
capture. 

Mathias van Guitt and his men had lived for some 
months in this kraal. They were there exposed, not only 
to the attacks of ferocious beasts, but also to the fevers 
with which the Terrai is infested. The damp nights, the 
pernicious evaporations from the ground, the moist heat 
hanging about under the thick-growing trees, through 
Which the sun never penetrates, all combine to make this 
lower zone of the Himalayas a most unhealthy region. 

The purveyor and his men were, however, so well 
acclimatized, that the malaria affected them no more than 
it did the tigers or other inhabitants of the Terrai. 

It would not have been wise for us to live in the kraal, 
nor did this enter into Captain Hood’s plan. Except for a 
night or two passed on the watch, we intended living in 
Steam House, which was too high up for any baleful 
vapours to reach us there. 

Here were we, then, arrived at Van Guitt’s encampment. 
The door opened for us to enter. 


38 


THE STEAM HOUSfc. 


Mathias van Guitt appeared particularly flattered by 
our visit. 

“ Now, gentlemen,” he said, “ permit me to do the honours 
of my kraal. This establishment is replete with every 
necessary for the pursuit of my vocation. In reality, it is 
but a hut on a large scale, which, in this country, hunters 
call a ‘ houddi.’ ” 

Saying this, our host opened the door of the dwelling 
which he and his people occupied together. Nothing could 
have been more simple. One room for the master, another 
for the carters, and another for the shikarries. A fourth, 
rather larger, serving for both kitchen and dining-room. 

After visiting the habitation of “ these bimana, belonging 
to the highest order of mammalia,” we were requested to 
look at the nearest of the quadruped’s dwellings. 

This was the most interesting part of the kraal. The 
cages were not like the comfortable dens of a zoological 
garden, but recalled rather the appearance of a travelling 
show. All that was required to complete them was a 
gaudily-painted canvas hung above a stage, and represent- 
ing in startling colours a tamer, in pink tights and velvet 
jacket, striking an attitude in the midst of a bounding herd 
of wild beasts, who, with bloody jaws and claws outspread, 
were cowering under the lash of some heroic Van 
Amburgh. 

But such a picture would have been wasted on the 


THE KRAAL. 


39 


desert air, as the public were not there to see and be edified 
by it. 

A few paces further on were the buffaloes. They occupied 
a portion of the kraal on the right, and their daily rations of 
fresh grass were brought to them there. It would have 
been impossible to allow these animals to stray in the 
neighbouring pastures. As Mathias van Guitt elegantly 
remarked, “the freedom of pasture, allowable in the United 
Kingdom, is incompatible with the dangers presented by 
the Himalayan forests.” 

The menagery, properly so called, comprised six cages 
on wheels. Each cage, with a barred front, was divided 
into three compartments. Doors, or rather partitions, 
moved from the top, made it easy for the animals in one 
compartment to be driven into another when necessary. 

The cages at the present time contained seven tigers, 
two lions, three panthers, and a couple of leopards. 

Van Guitt informed us that his stock would not be 
complete until he had captured two leopards, three tigers, 
and one lion more. Then he intended leaving this camp, 
proceeding to the nearest railway-station, and thence 
travelling to Bombay. 

The wild beasts were easily watched in their cages, and 
proved to be magnificent creatures, but particularly ferocious. 
They had been too recently caught to have yet become 
accustomed to a state of captivity. This was plain from 


40 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


their constant roars, their restless pacings up and down, 
and the blows they gave the bars, straining them in many 
places. 

On seeing us, their rage was redoubled ; but Van Guitt 
was not in the least disturbed. 

“ Poor beasts ! ,J remarked Captain Hood. 

“ Poor beasts ! ” echoed Fox. 

“ Do you believe, then, that they are more to be pitied 
than those which you kill ? ” asked our host, somewhat 
sharply. 

“ Less to be pitied than blamed ... for allowing them- 
selves to be caught ! ” returned Hood. 

If it is true that the wild beasts of a country such as 
Africa are sometimes compelled to undergo a long fast, 
because the animals upon which they feed are scarce, such 
could never be the case in the Terrai zone. Here abound 
bisons, buffaloes, zebras, boars, antelopes, to which the lions, 
tigers, and panthers are constantly giving chase. Besides 
goats and flocks of sheep, not to mention the poor ryots 
who are their shepherds, offer a certain and easy prey. 
They always find abundance in the Himalayan forests to 
satisfy their hunger. 

The purveyor fed his menagery chiefly on the flesh of 
bison and zebras, and it was the shikarries’ duty to procure 
this meat. 

It is a mistake to imagine that this species of hunting 


THE KRAAL. 


41 


is without danger. Quite the contrary. The tiger himself 
has much to fear from the savage buffalo, who is a terrible 
animal when wounded. Many a hunter has, to his horror, 
found his antagonist rooting up, with its horns, the tree in 
which he has taken refuge. 

It is said that the eye of a ruminant is a regular 
magnifying lens, increasing the size of an object threefold, 
and that man, in this gigantic aspect, awes him. It is 
also asserted that the upright position of a human being 
walking is of a nature to terrify ferocious animals, and, 
therefore, that it is far better to face them standing than 
lying or crouching down. 

I cannot tell how much truth there may be in these 
statements ; but it is very certain that a man, even when 
drawn up to his full height, produces no effect whatever on 
the savage buffalo ; and if his shot misses, he is almost 
certainly lost. 

The buffalo of India has a short, square head, smooth 
horns, flattened at the base, a humped back — like its 
American congener — its legs, from the foot to the knee, 
being white, and its size, from the root of the tail to the end 
of its muzzle, measuring sometimes twelve feet. Although 
it is not particularly ferocious when feeding in herds on the 
plain, it yet is 'very formidable to any hunter who rashly 
attacks it. 

Such were the ruminants destined to feed the beasts in 


42 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Van Guitt’s menagery. That they might obtain them 
with greater certainty and less danger, the shikarries 
preferred to trap them. 

The purveyor, who knew his business, was very sparing 
as to his captives’ food. Once a day, at twelve o’clock, 
four or five pounds of meat were given them, and nothing 
more. He even, though not from any religious motive, 
allowed them to fast from Saturday to Monday. They 
must have passed a dismal Sunday ! Then, when forty- 
eight hours had elapsed, and their modest pittance appeared, 
the excitement and the roaring may be imagined, the 
cages actually swaying backward and forwards with the 
movement of the springing, bounding creatures inside. 

Yes, poor beasts! we maybe tempted to say with Captain 
Hood. But Mathias van Guitt did not act thus without 
a motive ; and this enforced abstinence was good for the 
animals, and heightened their price in the European market. 

It may easily be imagined that while Van Guitt was 
exhibiting his collection, more as a naturalist than a show’- 
man, his tongue was not allowed to stand still. On the 
contrary. He talked, he described, he related ; and as wild 
beasts were the principal subjects of his redundant periods, 
it was all tolerably interesting to us. 

“ But, Mr. van Guitt,” said Banks, “ can you tell me if 
the profits of the trade are in proportion to the risks that 
are run ? ” 



A lecture on natural history 


Page 42 






























I 




















THE KRAAL. 


43 


“ Sir,” answered the purveyor, “ it was formerly extremely 
remunerative. However, for the last few years, I have been 
forced to perceive that ferocious animals have declined. 
You may judge of this by the current prices of the last 
quotation. Our principal market is the Zoological Garden 
in Antwerp. Volatiles, ophidians, specimens of the simian 
and saurian family, representatives of the carnivora of both 
hemispheres, such is the consuetudinal . . 

At this word Captain Hood bowed. 

“. . . produce of our adventurous battues in the forests of the 
peninsula. From one cause or another the public taste 
seems to have altered, and the sale price is sometimes less 
than what was expended on the capture ! For instance, a 
male ostrich is now sold but for 44/., and the female for 32/. 
A black panther found a purchaser for only 60/., a Java 
tigress for 9 61 ., and a family of lions — father, mother, uncle, 
and two healthy cubs — were sold in a lump for 280/.” 

“ They really went for nothing,” said Banks. 

“ As to proboscidate animals . . resumed Van Guitt. 

“ Proboscidate ? ” said Captain Hood. 

“ We call by that scientific name those pachydermata 
which nature has furnished with a trunk.” 

“ Such as elephants ! ” 

“ Yes, elephants since the quaternary period. They were 
‘ mastodons ’ in the pre-historic times.” 

“ Thank you,” replied Hood. 


44 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ As to proboscidate animals.” resumed Van Guitt, “ we 
must soon renounce even their capture, unless it is for the 
sake of their tusks ; for the consumption of ivory has in no 
way diminished. But since the authors of dramatic pieces, 
at their wit’s end for some novelty, have conceived the idea 
of introducing these creatures on the stage, they are taken 
about from one town to another ; so that the same elephant, 
parading the country with a strolling company, satisfies the 
curiosity of a whole province. From this cause, elephants 
are in less request than formerly.” 

“ But,” I asked, “do you only supply European menageries 
with these specimens of the Indian fauna ? ” 

“You will pardon me,” replied Mathias van Guitt, “if 
on this subject, sir, I allow myself, without being too 
curious, to put to you a simple question ?” 

I bowed in token of acquiescence. 

“ You are French, sir,” said the purveyor. “ That is 
plainly seen, not only by your accent, but by your type, 
which is an agreeable combination of the Gallo-Roman 
and the Celt. Now, as a Frenchman, you cannot have any 
propensity for distant journeys, and probably have not 
made the tour of the world ? ” 

Here Van Guitt’s hand described one of the great circles 
of the sphere. 

“ I have not yet had that pleasure,” I replied. 

“ I will ask you, then, sir,” continued our friend, “ not if 


THE KRAAL. 


45 


you have been to the Indies, as you are already here, but 
if you are thoroughly acquainted with the Indian 
peninsula ? ” 

“Imperfectly as yet,” I answered. “However, I have 
already visited Bombay, Calcutta, Benares, Allahabad, and 
the valley of the Ganges. I have seen their monuments, I 
have admired — ” 

“ Ah ! what is that, sir, what is all that ? ” interrupted 
Mathias van Guitt, turning away his head, and shaking 
his hand, in a manner to express supreme disdain. 

Then launching out into an animated description, — 

“Yes, what is all that, if you have not visited the 
menageries of those powerful rajahs, who maintain the 
worship of the superb animals, on which the sacred terri- 
tory of India prides itself? Resume your tourist’s staff, 
sir. Go into Guicowar, and render homage to the King 
of Baroda. Inspect his menageries, which owe the greater 
number of their tenants, lions from Kattiwar, bears, 
panthers, cheetahs, lynx, and tigers, to me. Be present at 
the celebration of the marriage of his sixty thousand 
pigeons, which takes place every year, with great pomp ! 
Admire his five hundred bulbuls, the nightingales of the 
peninsula, whose education is attended to as carefully as if 
they were heirs to the throne ! Contemplate the elephants ; 
one of them is the executioner, and his business it is to 
dash the head of the condemned man on the stone of 


46 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


punishment ! Then transfer yourself to the establishments 
of the Rajah of Maissour, the richest of Asiatic sovereigns. 
Enter his palace, where you may count hundreds of 
rhinoceri, elephants, tigers, and every creature of high 
rank which belongs to the animal aristocracy of India ! 
And when you have seen all this, sir, perhaps you need no 
longer be accused of ignorance of the marvels of this 
incomparable country ! ” 

I could do no more than bow before these remarks. Van 
Guitt’s impassioned style of representing things admitted 
of no discussion. 

Captain Hood, however, pressed him more directly 
about the particular fauna of this region of the Terrai. 

“ A little information, if you please,” he said, “ about the 
wild beasts which I have come to this part of India to 
hunt. Although I am only a sportsman, and I repeat, I 
do not compete with you, Mr. van Guitt, yet if I could be 
of any use in capturing the tigers which you still want for 
your collection, I shall only be too pleased to do so. But, 
when your menagery is completed, you must not take it 
ill if I, in my turn, shoot a few for my own personal amuse- 
ment/’ 

Mathias van Guitt put himself into the attitude of a man 
>vho has resigned himself to submit to what he disapproves 
of, but does not know howto prevent. He admitted, how- 
ever, that the Terrai contains a considerable number of 


THE KRAAL. 


47 


troublesome animals, in no great request in the European 
markets, so that their sacrifice might be permitted. 

“ Kill the boars, I consent to that/’ said he. “ Although 
these swine of the order of pachydermata, are not carni- 
vorous — ” 

“ Carnivorous ? ” said Captain Hood. 

“ I mean by that, that they are herbivorous ; their ferocity 
is so great, that hunters who are rash enough to attack them 
run the greatest danger.” 

“ And wolves ? ” 

“ Wolves are numerous all over the peninsula, and are 
much to be dreaded when they advance in herds on some 
solitary farm. These animals slightly resemble the wolf of 
Poland, and I certainly have not much esteem either for 
jackals or wild dogs. I do not deny the ravages they 
commit, and as they have not the smallest marketable 
value, and are unworthy to figure amongst the higher 
classes of zoo-ocracy, I will abandon them also to you, 
Captain Hood.” 

“ And bears ? ” I next asked. 

“ Bears are good, sir,” answered the zoologist with a nod 
of approval. “Although those of India are not sought for 
quite as eagerly as others of the family Ursidae, they never- 
theless possess a certain commercial value which recom- 
mends them to the benevolent attention of connoisseurs. 
Your taste might hesitate between the two species which we 


48 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


find in the valleys of Cashmere and the hills of Rajmahal. 
But, except perhaps in the hibernating period, these crea- 
tures are almost inoffensive, and, in short, would not tempt 
the cynegetic instincts of a true sportsman, such as I hold 
Captain Hood to be.” 

The captain smiled in a significant manner, showing 
well that with or without the permission of Mathias van 
Guitt, he meant only to refer to himself on these special 
questions. 

“These animals,” continued Van Guitt, “feed only on 
vegetables, and have nothing in common with the ferocious 
species, on which the peninsula so justly plumes itself.” 

“ Do you include the leopard in your list of wild beasts ?” 
asked Captain Hood. 

“ Most certainly, sir. This creature is active, bold, full 
of courage, and he can climb trees, so for that reason he is 
sometimes more formidable than the tiger.” 

“ Oh ! ” ejaculated the captain. 

“ Sir,” answered Mathias van Guitt in a dignified tone, 
“ when a hunter is no longer sure of finding a refuge in 
trees, he is very near being hunted in his turn ! ” 

“ And the panther ? ” asked Captain Hood, willing to cut 
short this discussion. 

“ The panther is superb,” answered Mathias van Guitt ; 

“ and you may observe, gentlemen, that I have some 
magnificent specimens. Astonishing animals, which by a 


THE KRAAL. 


49 


singular contradiction, an antilogy, to use an uncommon 
word, may be trained for the chase. Yes, gentlemen, in 
Guicowar especially, the Rajahs use panthers in this noble 
exercise. They are taken out in a palanquin, with their 
heads muffled like a falcon or a merlin ! Indeed, they are 
regular four-footed hawks ! No sooner do the hunters 
come in sight of a herd of antelopes, than the panther is 
unhooded, and flies upon the timid ruminants, whose feet, 
swift as they are, cannot carry them beyond the reach of 
those terrible claws! Yes, captain, yes! You will find 
panthers in the Terrai ! You may perhaps find more than 
you care for, but I warn you charitably that they are by no 
means tame ! ” 

“ I should hope not,” was Captain Hood’s reply. 

“ Nor the lions either,” added the zoologist, somewhat 
vexed at this answer. 

“Ah ! lions ! ” said Hood. “ Let us speak a little about 
lions, please ! ” 

“Well, sir,” resumed Mathias van Guitt, “ I regard the 
so-called king of beasts as inferior to his congeners of 
ancient Libya. Here the males do not wear that mane 
which is the appendage of the African lion, and in my 
opinion, they are, therefore, but shorn Sampsons ! They 
have, besides, almost entirely disappeared from Central 
India to seek* a refuge in the Kattiwar peninsula, the desert 
of Theil, and the Terrai forest. These degenerate felines, 

E 


VOL. II. 


50 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


living solitary, like hermits, do not gain strength by fre- 
quenting the company of their fellows. Therefore, I do 
not give them the first place in the scale of quadrupeds. 
Indeed, gentlemen, you may escape from a lion, from a 
tiger, never ! ” 

“Ah! tigers!” cried Captain Hood. 

“Yes, tigers!” echoed Fox. 

“ The tiger,” replied Van Guitt, growing animated, “ to 
him belongs the crown. We speak of the royal tiger, not 
the royal lion, and that is but justice. India belongs 
entirely to him, and may be summed up in him. Was he 
not the first occupant of the soil ? Was it not his right to 
look upon as invaders, not only the representatives of the 
Anglo-Saxon race, but also the polar race? Is he not 
indeed the true child of this sacred land of Aryvarta ? 
These magnificent animals are spread over the whole sur- 
face of the peninsula, and they have not abandoned a 
single district of their ancestors, from Cape Comerin to the 
Himalayan barrier ! ” 

And Mathias van Guitt’s arm, stretched out to denote 
the southern promontory, was now waved northwards 
towards the mountain peaks. 

“ In the Sunderbunds,” he continued, “ they are at home ! 
There they reign as masters, and woe to all who attempt 
to dispute with them their territory ! In the Neilgherry 
Hills they roam about in a body, like wild cats. 


THE KRAAL. 


51 


* Si parva licet componere magnis ! ’ 

You can understand from this why these superb felidae 
are in such demand in all European markets, and are the 
pride of menageries ! What is the great attraction in 
the public or private wild beast show ? The tiger ! When 
do you most fear for the life of the tamer ? When he is in 
the tiger’s cage ! For what animals do the Rajahs pay 
their weight in gold to obtain them to ornament their 
royal gardens ? The tiger ! . What creature is always at a 
premium in the wild animal market exchange of London, 
Antwerp, and Hamburg ? The tiger ! In what chase do 
British officers in India so distinguish themselves ? In the 
tiger hunt ! Do you know, gentlemen, what entertainment 
the independent sovereigns of India provide for their 
guests ? A royal tiger in a cage is brought. The cage is 
placed in the midst of a wide plain. The rajah, his guests, 
his officers, his guards, are armed with lances, revolvers, 
and rifles, and are, for the most part, mounted on gallant 
solipeds — ” 

“Solipeds?” said Captain Hood. 

“Their horses, if you prefer the more vulgar word. 
Already the solipeds, terrified by the near neighbourhood 
of the tiger, his scent, and the light which gleams from his 
eyes, rear, so that it requires all their rider’s skill to manage 
them. Suddenly the door of the cage is thrown open. 
The monster springs forth ; with wild leaps he flies on the 


E 2 


52 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


scattered groups ; in his fury he immolates a hecatomb of 
victims. Although sometimes he contrives to break 
through the circle of fire and sword with which he is sur- 
rounded, more often he is overcome and falls, one against 
a hundred. But, at least, his death is a glorious one, it is 
avenged beforehand.” 

“ Bravo, Mr. van Guitt,” cried Captain Hood, in his turn 
becoming quite excited. “Yes, that must be a fine sight. 
Truly the tiger is the king of beasts.” 

“A royalty too, which defies revolutions,” added the 
zoologist. 

“You have caught many, Mr. van Guitt,” said Hood, “I 
have killed many, and I hope not to leave the Terrai until 
the fiftieth has fallen by my shot.” 

“ Captain,” said the purveyor with a frown, “ I have 
delivered up to you boars, wolves, bears, and buffaloes, will 
not those suffice to gratify your sporting mania ? ” 

I saw that our friend Hood would burst forth with as 
much animation as Mathias van Guitt on this exciting 
question. Had the one captured more tigers than the other 
had killed ? Was it better to catch or shoot them ? This 
was the matter and theme of discussion! 

Thereupon the captain and the zoologist commenced to 
exchange rapid sentences, both speaking at once, and 
apparently not in the least comprehending what the other 
said. 



Shooting wild boars. 


Pa%e 52 

























TIIE KRAAL. 


53 


Banks interposed. 

“That tigers are the kings of creation is understood, 
gentlemen, but I must be permitted to add that they are 
very dangerous to their subjects. In 1862, if I am not 
mistaken, these excellent felidae devoured all the telegraph 
clerks in the Island of Sangor. We are also told of a 
tigress who, in three years, made no less than a hundred 
and eighteen victims, and another, who in the same space 
of time destroyed a hundred and twenty-seven persons. 
That is rather too much, even for a queen ! Lastly, since 
the mutiny, in an interval of three years, twelve thousand 
five hundred and fifty-four individuals have perished by 
tigers teeth or claws.” 

“ But, sir,” replied Van Guitt, “you seem to forget that 
these animals are omophagae.” 

“ Omophagae ? ” said Captain Hood. 

“Yes, eaters of raw flesh, and the natives say that when 
they have once tasted human flesh, they never care for any 
other ! ” 

“ Well, sir ? ” said Banks. 

“Well, sir,” answered Mathias van Guitt, smiling, “they 
obey their nature ! . . . They certainly must eat ! ” 


54 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER IV. 

A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 

This remark of the zoologist ended our visit to tlie kraal, 
as it was time to return to Steam House. 

I must say that Captain Hood and Mathias van Guitt 
did not part the best friends in the world. One wished 
to destroy the wild beasts of the Terrai, the other wished 
to catch them ; yet there were plenty to satisfy both. 

It was, however, agreed that intercourse between the 
kraal and the sanitarium should be frequent. Each was to 
give information to the other. Van Guitt’s shikarries, 
who were well acquainted >vith this sort of expedition, and 
knew every turn of the forest, were to render a service to 
Captain Hood by showing him the tracks of animals. The 
zoologist most obligingly placed all his men, and especially 
Kalagani, at his disposal. This native, although but 
recently engaged at the kraal, showed himself very intelli- 
gent, and completely to be depended on. 

In return, Captain Hood promised, as far as lay in his 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


55 


power, to aid in the capture of the animals which were yet 
wanting to complete the stock of Mathias van Guitt. 

Before leaving the kraal, Sir Edward Munro, who pro- 
bably did not purpose making many visits there, again 
thanked Kalagani, whose intervention had saveddiim. He 
told him that he should always be welcome at Steam 
House. 

The native saluted coldly. Although hehnust have felt 
some sentiment of satisfaction at hearing the man whose 
life he had preserved speak thus, he allowed no trace of it 
to appear on his countenance. 

We returned in time for dinner. As may be imagined, 
Mathias van Guitt was our chief subject of conversa- 
tion. 

“ By Jove ! what an absurd fellow [he is,” said the cap- 
tain. “What with his gestures, his fine choice of words, 
and his grand expressions, he is a caution ! Only, if he 
fancies that wild beasts are mere subjects for exhibition, he 
is greatly mistaken ! ” 

On the three following days, the 27th, 28th, and 29th of 
June, rain fell with such violence, that our hunters, to their 
great annoyance, could not dream of leaving Steam House. 
In such dreadful weather it would be impossible to find a 
track, and the carnivora, who are no fonder of water than 
are cats, would not willingly leave their dens. 

At last the -weather showed signs of clearing, and Hood, 


56 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Fox, Goumi, and I made preparations for descending to 
the kraal. 

During the morning, some mountaineers came to pay us 
a visit. They had heard that a miraculous pagoda had 
been transported to the Himalayas, and a lively feeling of 
curiosity had in consequence brought them to Steam 
House. 

They were fine types of the Thibetian frontier race. 
Full of warlike virtues, of tried loyalty, practising liberal 
hospitality, and far superior, both morally and physically, 
to the natives of the plains. 

The supposed pagoda astonished them ; but Behemoth 
so impressed them as to draw from them marks of 
adoration. He was now at rest, what would not these 
good people have felt if they had seen him, vomiting forth 
flame and smoke, and ascending with a steady step the 
rough slopes of their mountains ! 

Colonel Munro gave a kind reception to these men, 
who usually frequented the territories of Nepaul, on the 
Indo-Chinese boundary. The conversation turned for a 
time on that part of the frontier where Nana Sahib had 
taken refuge, after the defeat of the sepoys. 

These hillmen knew scarcely so much as we did our- 
selves on this matter. The rumours of the nabob’s death 
had reached them, and they cast no doubt upon it. As to 
those of his companions who had survived, perhaps they 



Some mountainers came to pay us a visit. 


Page 56 , 





* 


t 


















\ 


















« 






s 





















X ♦ 
l 









A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


57 


had sought a more secure refuge in the depths of Thibet ; 
but to find them in that country would have been difficult. 

Indeed, if Colonel Munro, in coming to the north of the 
peninsula, had had any idea of throwing light on Nana 
Sahib’s history, this reply should have satisfied him. In 
listening to our visitors he remained thoughtful, and took 
no more part in the conversation. 

Captain Hood put some questions to them, but on quite 
another point. He learnt that wild beasts, more particu- 
larly tigers, had made frightful ravages in the lower zone 
of the Himalayas. Farms, and even whole villages, had 
been deserted by their inhabitants. Many flocks of goats 
and sheep had been already destroyed, besides numerous 
victims among the natives. Notwithstanding the con- 
siderable sum offered by the government — three hundred 
rupees for every tiger’s head — the number of these crea- 
tures did not appear to diminish, and people were asking 
themselves whether they would not soon be obliged to leave 
the country to them entirely. 

The hillmen also added this information, that the tigers 
did not confine themselves entirely to the Terrai. When- 
ever the plain offered them tall grass, jungle, and trees 
among which they could crouch, there they might be met 
with in great numbers. 

“The evil beasts!” was their expression. 

These honest people had very good cause not to profess 


53 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


the same opinions on the subject of tigers as the zoologist 
Mathias van Guitt and our friend Captain Hood. 

The mountaineers retired, enchanted with the reception 
they had met with, and promising to repeat their visit to 
Steam House. 

After their departure our preparations were completed, 
and Captain Hood, our two companions, and I, all well 
armed ready for any encounter, descended' to the Terrai. 

On arriving at the clearing, in which was the trap from 
which we had so fortunately extracted Matthias van 
Guitt, that gentleman presented himself before our eyes, 
not without some ceremony. 

Five or six of his people, Kalagani among the number, 
were occupied in getting a tiger, which had been caught 
during the night, from the snare into a travelling-cage. 

It was a magnificent animal indeed, and, as a matter of 
course, caused Captain Hood to feel corresponding envy ! 

u One less in the Terrai ! ” he murmured, between two 
sighs which found their echo in Fox’s manly breast. 

“ One k more in the menagery,” replied the zoologist. 
“ Still two tigers, a lion, and two leopards, and I shall be 
in a position to honour my engagements before the end 
of the season. Will you come with me to the kraal, 
gentlemen ? ” 

“Thank you,” said Captain Hood; “to-day, however, 
we are out on our own account.” 



Meeting in the forest. 


Page 58 
















A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


59 


“ Kalagani is at your disposal, Captain Hood,” replied 
the purveyor. “ He is well acquainted with the forest, and 
may be useful to you.” 

“ We will gladly take him as a guide.” 

“ Farewell, gentlemen,” said Van Guitt ; “ I wish you 
good sport ! But promise me not to massacre them all ! ” 

“ We will leave you a few,” returned Hood. 

And Mathias van Guitt, saluting us with a superb bow, 
followed his cage, and soon disappeared among the trees. 

“ Forward ! ” said Hood, “ forward, my men. Hurrah 
for my forty-second ! ” 

“ And my thirty-eighth ! ” responded Fox. 

“And my first ! ” I added. 

But the quiet way in which I uttered the words, made 
the captain laugh. Evidently, I did not feel the sacred 
fire. 

Hood turned to Kalagani. 

“ So you know the forest well ? ” he asked. 

“ I have been over it twenty times, day and night, in 
every direction,” replied the man. 

“ Have you heard that a particular tiger has been lately 
noticed near the kraal ? ” 

“ Yes ; but this tiger is a tigress. She has been seen two 
miles from here, in the upper part of the forest, and they 
have been trying to get hold of her for several days. Should 
you like — ” , 


6o 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ That’s just what we want!” answered Captain Hood, 
without giving the native time to finish his sentence. 

To follow Kalagani was the best thing we could do, so 
we did it. 

Wild beasts were apparently very plentiful in the Terrai, 
but here, as everywhere else, each required two bullocks a 
week for their own particular consumption ! Just calculate 
what the cost of such a “ keep ” would be to the entire 
peninsula. 

It must not be imagined that the numerous tigers visit 
inhabited country unless impelled by necessity. Till urged 
by hunger, they remain hidden in their lairs, and it would 
be a mistake to imagine that they are met with at every 
step. Very many travellers have journeyed through these 
forests without even catching a glimpse of one. When a 
hunt is organized, the first thing to be done is to recon- 
noitre the places most frequented by the animal, and 
especially to find out the stream or spring to which he 
comes to slake his thirst. 

Sometimes this is not sufficient, and he has to be 
attracted to the spot. This is done easily enough by put- 
ting a quarter of beef tied to a stake in some place sur- 
rounded by trees and rocks to shelter the hunters. This 
at least, is the w r ay they proceed in the forest. 

In the plains, it is another thing, and there the elephant 
becomes the most useful auxiliary to man in his dangerous 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


6 1 


sport. These animals have, however, to be trained to the 
work, though even then, they are sometimes seized with a 
panic which renders the position of the men perched on 
their backs, dangerous in the extreme. It must also be 
said that sometimes the tiger does not hesitate to spring 
on the elephant. The struggle between the man and 
-beast then takes place on the very back of the gigantic 
steed, and it is rarely indeed that it does not end in favour 
of the tiger. 

In this way the grand hunts of the rajahs and great 
sportsmen of India are conducted, but it was by no means 
Captain Hood’s manner of proceeding. He was going to 
search for tigers on foot, and it was on foot that he ^ was 
accustomed to fight them. 

In the meantime, we were following Kalagani, who was 
walking on at a round pace. Reserved as all Hindoos are, 
he spoke little, and contented himself with replying briefly 
to the questions which we put to him. 

After walking for an hour, we halted by a rapid stream, 
and on its banks were the still fresh tracks of animals. In 
a little glade was a stake, to which was fastened a quarter of 
beef. The bait had not been entirely untouched. It had 
been recently gnawed by the teeth of jackals, those thieves 
of the Indian fauna, always in quest of prey, but this was 
not intended for them. A dozen or so of these creatures 
fled at our approach, and left the place clear. 


62 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ Captain,” said Kalagani, “ we must wait for the tigress 
here. You see that it is a good place for an am- 
bush.” 

It was, indeed, easy to post ourselves in trees or behind 
rocks, so as to have a cross-fire over the post in the centre 
of the glade. 

This was immediately done. Goumi and I took our 
places in the same tree. Hood and Fox perched them- 
selves in two magnificent oaks opposite each other. 

Kalagani hid behind a high rock, which he could climb 
if the danger became imminent. 

The animal would be thus enclosed in a circle, from 
which it could not escape. All the chances were against 
it, although we were as yet reckoning on the unforeseen. 

We had now to wait. 

We could still hear the hoarse bark of the dispersed 
jackals in the neighbourin^thickets, but they did not dare 
to return. 

Nearly an hour had thus passed, when the yelps sud- 
denly ceased. Almost immediately two or three jackals 
bounded out of the wood, and darting across the glade, 
disappeared in the thicker part of the forest. 

A sign from Kalagani, who was ready to climb his rock, 
told us to be on our guard. 

We guessed that the precipitate flight of the jackals must 
have been caused by the approach of some savage animal, — 




































































* 





































I 


f ’ 













































Watching the tigress approach. 

Page 63 . 




























A QUEEN OF TH£ TERR AT. 


63 


the tigress no doubt, — so that we were ready to see her 
at any moment appear on one side or other of the 
glade. 

Our guns were all ready. Captain Hood and his man 
held their weapons pointed at the place from which the 
jackals had issued. 

Very soon I saw a slight agitation among the upper 
branches of the thicket. The snapping of dry wood was 
also heard. Some animal was approaching, but slowly and 
warily. Though evidently seeing nothing of the hunters 
in wait among the branches, its instinct warned it that the 
place was not quite safe. Certainly, unless urged by 
hunger, and attracted by the smell of the beef, it would not 
have ventured further. 

At last we could see it through the branches, where it 
stopped, probably mistrustful. 

It was a huge tigress, powerful and active. She began 
to advance, crouching, and with an undulatory move- 
ment. 

With one consent, we allowed her to approach the post. 
She smelt the ground, she drew herself up and arched 
her back, like a gigantic cat, prepared to spring. 

Suddenly two sharp reports rang out. 

“ Forty-two ! ” cried Captain Hood. 

f ‘ Thirty-eight ! ” shouted Fox. 

The captain and his man had fired at the same moment, 


64 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


and with such true aim, that the animal, shot through the 
heart, fell dead on the ground. 

Kalagani ran up. We all quickly descended from our 
various trees. 

The tigress did not stir. 

But to whom belonged the honour of having killed her ? 
To the captain or to Fox ? This was an important ques- 
tion, as may be imagined. 

The beast was examined. Two balls were found in the 
heart ! 

“ Come,” said Hood, not without a slight touch of regret 
in his voice, “ we’ve got half a tiger apiece.” 

“ So we have, captain ; half a tiger apiece,” answered 
Fox, in the same tone. 

And I verily believe neither of the two would, on any 
account have given up the share he reckoned to his own 
account. 

Such was this wonderful shot, of which the clearest result 
was that the animal had fallen without a struggle, and con- 
sequently without danger to the assailants, — a very rare 
occurrence. 

Fox and Goumi remained on the field of battle, in order 
to despoil the animal of her magnificent skin, whilst 
Captain Hood and I returned to Steam House., 

It is not my intention to note every incident of our 
expeditions into the Terrai forest, but only those which 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


65 


present some particular characteristic. I shall content 
myself with saying that, so far, Captain Hood and Fox 
had had no reason to complain. 

On the 10th of July, during a houddi hunt, a happy 
chance again favoured them, without their running any 
real danger. The houddi, or hut, its walls pierced with 
loop-holes, is built on the borders of a stream at 
which animals are accustomed to come and drink. Used 
to the sight of these erections, they are not alarmed, 
and carelessly expose themselves to be shot at. But, 
to be safe, it is necessary to mortally wound the creature 
at the first, or he becomes dangerous, for the hut 
does not always protect the hunter from his infuriated 
spring. 

This is exactly what occurred on the occasion of which 
I am about to speak. Mathias van Guitt accompanied 
us. Perhaps he hoped that some tiger, slightly wounded, 
might fall to his share, to take home to his kraal and be 
cured. 

This time our sportsmen had three tigers to deal with, 
but the first discharge was not sufficient to prevent them 
from springing on to the walls of the houddi. The two 
first, to the zoologist’s great disgust, were killed by a 
second ball, but the third leaped right in, his shoulder 
covered with blood, but not mortally wounded. 

“ W e must have that fellow ! ” cried Van Guitt, who 


VOL. II. 


F 


66 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


risked not a little in speaking thus. “ We must take him 
alive ! 

Scarcely had he uttered the words when, with a bound, 
the animal was upon him. He was overthrown in an 
instant, and it would have been all up with our friend had 
not Captain Hood sent a ball through the tiger’s head, and 
thus saved the Dutchman, who sprang up, exclaiming, — 

“ Well, captain, you might just as well have waited — ” 

“ Waited — what for ? ” answered Captain Hood ; “ until 
that brute had torn you to bits with his claws ? ” 

“ A wound with a claw needn’t be mortal ! ” 

“All right,” returned Captain Hood quietly. “Another 
time I will wait ! ” 

This tiger, however, instead of figuring in a menagerie, 
was fated only to be used as a hearthrug ; but it brought 
up the list to forty- two for the captain, and thirty -eight 
for his man, without counting the half-tigress. 

It must not be imagined that these grand hunts made 
us neglect smaller ones. Monsieur Parazard could not 
allow that. Antelopes, chamois, great bustards, of which 
there were numbers around Steam House, partridges and 
hares supplied our table with a great variety of game. 

When we went into the Terrai, it was very rarely that 
Banks accompanied us. 

Although these expeditions began to interest me, he did 
not seem to care for them. The upper zones of the 





* 



\\ ith a bound the animal was upon him. 


Page 66 


in\\w\VV\\sui^ 






A QUEEN OF THE TERKAI. 


67 


Himalayas evidently offered him greater attractions, and 
he took pleasure in these excursions, especially when 
Colonel Munro consented to join him. 

But it was only once or twice that the engineer could 
persuade his friend to do so. We observed that since 
our installation in the sanatarium. Sir Edward Munro 
had again become anxious. He spoke less, he kept 
aloof from us, but held long conferences with Sergeant 
McNeil. Were these two men meditating some new 
project which they wished to keep concealed even from 
Banks ? 

On the 13th of July Mathias van Guitt came to pay 
us a visit. Less favoured than the captain, he had not 
added a single fresh tenant to his menagerie. Neither 
tigers, lions, nor leopards seemed disposed to be caught. 
The idea of going to exhibit themselves in the countries 
of the West apparently did not allure them. Conse- 
quently the zoologist was in a very bad humour, and did 
not seek to hide it. 

» Kalagani and two shikarrees accompanied him on this 
visit. 

The situation of our house pleased him much. Colonel 
Munro begged him to remain and dine. He consented 
with pleasure to'honour our table. 

Whilst waiting for dinner, Van Guitt wished to go over 
Steam House, the comfort of which was a contrast to 


F 2 


68 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


the modest arrangements of the kraal. Our dwellings 
drew forth many compliments from him, but I must 
confess that Behemoth did not excite his admiration in the 
least. A naturalist, such as he was, could not but be in- 
different to this masterpiece of mechanics. Remarkable 
as it was, how could he admire a mere imitation — a 
mechanical creation ? 

“ Do not think badly of our elephant, Mr. van Guitt ! ” 
said Banks. “ He is a powerful animal, who would make 
nothing of drawing all your menagerie cages and our cars 
as well/’ 

“I have my buffaloes,” answered the naturalist, “and I 
prefer their slow and steady pace.” 

“ Behemoth fears neither the claws nor teeth of tigers ! ” 
cried Hood. 

“ No doubt, gentlemen,” replied Mathias van Guitt, 
“ but why should wild beasts attack him ? They would 
not care for iron flesh ! " 

Though the zoologist did not conceal his indifference 
fo our elephant, his men and Kalagani in particular were 
never tired of staring at it. Mingled with their admiration 
for the gigantic animal, there was evidently some super- 
stitious respect. Kalagani appeared very much surprised 
when the engineer repeated that our iron elephant was 
more powerful than all the teams at the kraal put together. 
This was an opportunity for Captain Hood to describe, 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


69 


not without pride, our adventure with the three “ probosci- 
date animals” belonging to Prince Gourou Singh. A 
slight incredulous smile curled the lip of the naturalist, but 
he said nothing. 

Dinner passed off excellently well. Van Guitt did great 
justice to it. The larder had been well supplied with the 
product of our last excursion, and monsieur certainly 
surpassed himself, 

The cellar of Steam House was well stocked with 
various liquors, which our guest much appreciated, espe- 
cially some French wines, after imbibing which his matchless 
tongue wagged faster than ever. 

So well did he relish them, that when we rose from 
table, to judge by his uncertain mode of progression, it 
was evident that if the wine had gone to his head, it had 
also gone down into his legs. 

Evening came on, and at last we separated, the best 
friends in the world, Mathias van Guitt, with the aid of 
his attendants, reaching his kraal in safety. 

On the 16th of July something occurred which made a 
regular quarrel between the zoologist and the captain. 

Hood shot a tiger just as it was about to enter one of 
the traps; and though this made his forty-third, it was 
not the eighth which the purveyor wished for. 

However, after a lively interchange of epithets, harmony 
was once more restored, thanks to Colonel Munro’s inter- 


70 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


vention/and Captain Hood promised to respect any animal 
who “had intentions” of being caught in Van Guitt's 
traps. 

For the ensuing days the weather was detestable. We 
were obliged to stay indoors nolens volens. We were 
anxious that the rainy season should come to an end, and 
that could not now be long, for it had already lasted for 
more than three months. If the programme of our 
journey, was carried out as Banks had arranged, we had 
only six weeks to pass in our sanatarium. 

On the 23rd of July some hillmen came to pay a second 
visit to Colonel Munro. Their village, called Souari, lay 
but five miles from our encampment on the upper limit 
of the Terrai. 

One of them told us, that for several weeks past, a 
tigress had been making frightful ravages on this part of 
the territory. The flocks were being carried off, and they 
even talked of abandoning Souari as uninhabitable. There 
was no safety in it, either for man or beast. Snares and 
traps had been tried without any success on the 
ravenous beast, which already was spoken of as one of 
the most formidable ever known among even the oldest 
mountaineers. 

It may be guessed that the story excited Captain Hood 
at once. He immediately offered to accompany the men 
back to their village, ready to put his hunting experience 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


7 1 


and his accurate aim at the service of these honest people, 
who, I imagine, counted not a little on such an offer. 

“ Shall you come, Maucler ? ” asked the captain, in the 
tone of a man who did not wish to influence a determina- 
tion. 

“ Certainly,” I replied. “ I should not like to miss such 
an interesting expedition.” 

“ I will join you, this time,” said the engineer. 

“ That’s capital, Banks.” 

“ Yes, Hood. I have a great wish to see you at work ! ” 

“ Am I not to go, captain ? ” asked Fox. 

“ Ah, you rascal !” laughed his master. “You won’t be 
sorry for an opportunity to make up your half-tigress ! 
Yes, Fox, yes, you shall go ! ” 

As we should probably be absent from Steam House 
for three or four days, Banks asked the colonel whether he 
would not like to go with us to the village of Souari. 

Sir Edward thanked him, but said he proposed to profit 
by our absence to visit the middle zone of the Himalayas 
above the belt of forest, with Goumi and Sergeant McNeil. 

Banks did not urge the matter. 

It was decided that we should set out directly for the 
kraal, in order to borrow from Mathias van Guitt a few of 
his shikarrees, who might be useful to us. 

About midday we arrived there, and acquainted the 
naturalist with our intentions. He could not conceal his 


72 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


secret satisfaction in hearing of the exploits of this tigress, 
“ well calculated,” said he, “ to heighten the reputation of 
these felidae of the peninsula in the minds of connoisseurs.” 
He then placed at our disposal three of his men, besides 
Kalagani, always ready for any danger. 

It was settled with Captain Hood that, if by any possi- 
bility the tigress should be taken living, it was to belong 
to Van Guitt’s menagerie. What an attraction it would 
be to have a placard hung in front of its cage, stating 
in eloquent terms the great deeds of “one of the Queens 
of the Terrai, who has devoured no less than a hundred 
and thirty-eight persons of both sexes ! ” 

Our little band left the kraal about two o’clock in the 
afternoon. Before four o’clock, after ascending in an 
easterly direction, we arrived without adventure at Souari. 

The panic here was at its height. 

That very morning a native had been surprised by the 
tigress near a stream and carried off into the forest. 

We were received most hospitably in the house of a 
well-to-do farmer, an Englishman. 

Our host had had more reason than any one else to com- 
plain of the savage beast, and would willingly pay several 
thousand rupees for its skin. 

“Several years ago, Captain Hood,” he said, “a tigress 
obliged the inhabitants of thirteen villages of the central 
provinces to take to flight, and in consequence a hundred 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


73 


and fifty miles were forced to lie fallow! Well, if that 
sort of thing takes place here the whole province will 
have to be deserted ! ” 

“ Have you employed every possible means to get rid 
of this tigress ? ” asked Banks. 

“Yes, indeed, everything ; traps, pitfalls, and even baits 
prepared with strychnine ! Nothing has succeeded ! ” 

“Well, my friend/’ said Captain Hood, “I can’t pro- 
mise for certain to give satisfaction, but I assure you we 
will do our very best. - ” 

Thereupon a battue was organized for that same day. 
Our party and the shikarrees were joined by about twenty 
mountaineers, who were well acquainted with the country. 

Although Banks was so little of a sportsman he ac- 
companied our expedition with the most lively interest. 

For three days we searched about all round the neigh- 
bourhood, but with no result, except that a couple of 
tigers, which no one thought much of, fell by the captain’s 
gun. 

“ Forty-five ! ” was all the remark he made. 

At last the tigress signalized herself by a fresh misdeed. 
A buffalo, belonging to our host, disappeared from its 
pasture, and its remains were found about a quarter of a 
mile from the village. The assassination — premeditated 
murder, as a lawyer would say — had been accomplished 
before daybreak. The assassin could not be far off. 


74 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


But was the principal author of this crime indeed the 
tigress so long sought in vain ? 

The natives of Souari had no doubt of it. 

“ I know it was my uncle, he did the mischief! ” said one 
of the villagers to us. 

“My uncle” is the natives’ usual name for the tiger, 
they believing that the soul of each of their ancestors is 
lodged for eternity in the body of some member of the 
cat tribe. On this occasion it would certainly have been 
more correct to say “ My aunt ! ” 

It was immediately decided that we should set out in 
quest of the animal without waiting for night, as the dark- 
ness would conceal it more effectually than ever. We knew 
it must be gorged, and would probably not leave its den for 
two or three days. 

We took the field. Starting from the place where the 
buffalo had been seized, traces of blood showed the direc- 
tion the tigress had taken. These marks led us towards a 
thicket, which had been beaten many times already, with- 
out discovering anything. It was resolved to surround 
this spot so as to form a circle through which the animal 
could not escape, at least without being seen. 

The villagers dispersed themselves around, so as to 
gradually narrow the circle, Captain Hood, Kalagani, and 
I were on one side, Banks and Fox on the other, but in 
constant communication with the rest of the people. Each 







Page 75 




A QUEEN OF THE TERRA!. 


75 


point of the ring was dangerous, since the tigress might try 
to break through anywhere. 

There was no doubt that the animal was in this thicket, 
for the traces which entered one side did not reappear on 
the other. This did not prove though that it was its 
habitual retreat, for it had been searched before, but the 
presumptions were that it was its present refuge. 

It was early, only eight o’clock. When all arrange- 
ments were made, we began to advance noiselessly, con- 
tracting the investing circle. In half an hour we were at 
the limit of the first trees. 

Nothing had occurred, nothing had announced the pre- 
sence of any creature, and for my own part I began to 
question whether we were not wasting our time. 

Each could now only see the men next him, and yet it 
was important that we should advance with perfect 
unanimity. 

It had been previously agreed that the man who first 
entered the wood should fire a shot. 

The signal was given by Captain Hood, who was always 
first in everything, and the border was crossed. I looked 
at my watch ; it was thirty-five minutes past eight. 

In a quarter of an hour the circle had so drawn in that 
our elbows touched, but we still had seen nothing. 

Till now the silence had been unbroken, except by the 
snapping of dry branches under our feet. 


;6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Suddenly a roar was heard. 

“The beast is in there! ” cried Captain Hood, pointing 
to the mouth of a cavern in a mass of rocks and trees. 

He was not mistaken. If it was not the usual haunt of 
the tigress, it was evidently her refuge now. 

Hood, Banks, Fox, Kalagani, and several other men ap- 
proached the narrow opening to which the bloody traces led. 

“We shall have to go in there,” said the captain. 

“A dangerous job!” remarked Banks. “It will be a 
serious matter for the first who enters ! ” 

“ I shall go in though,” returned Hood, looking carefully 
to his rifle. 

“After me, captain!” put in Fox, who was already 
stooping to enter the cave. 

“ No, no, Fox ! ” cried Hood. “ This is my affair ! ” 

“ Ah, captain ! ” said Fox, in most persuasive yet 
reproachful accents, “ I am six behind you ! ” 

Just imagine their reckoning up their tigers at such a 
moment ! 

“Neither one nor the other shall enter!” exclaimed 
Banks. “No! I can’t allow it.” 

“ There is another way,” interrupted Kalagani. 

“ What is that ? ” 

“To smoke her out,” replied the native. “She will be 
forced to appear then. It will be easier and less risky to 
kill her outside.” 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


77 


“ Kalagani is right,” said Banks. “ Come, my men, dead 
wood, dry grass ! Stop up the opening partly, so that the 
wind may drive the smoke and flame inside. The beast 
must either be roasted or run away ! ” 

“ It will run away,” said the native. 

“So much the better!” remarked Captain Hood. 

“ We shall be ready to give her a salute on her way.” 

In a few minutes branches, grass, and dead wood, of 
which there was plenty lying near, were piled in a heap 
before the entrance to the den. 

Nothing had stirred inside. Nothing could be seen in 
the gloomy depths. Yet our ears could not have deceived 
us, the roar certainly came from that place. 

A light was set to the heap, and soon the whole was in a 
blaze. From this bonfire issued a thick, choking smoke, 
blowing right into the interior. 

A second roar, more furious than the first, burst forth. 
The creature was being driven to extremities, and would 
make a rush. 

We all waited anxiously, our faces towards the rocks ? 
and partially sheltered by the trees, so as to avoid the first 
infuriated spring. 

The captain had chosen another position, which, to suit 
him, must, of course, be the most perilous. This was in a 
gap between the brushwood, the only one which offered a 
passage from the den. There Hood knelt on one knee, so 


78 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


as to steady his aim, his rifle at his shoulder, and looking 
as if carved in marble. 

Three minutes had passed since the fire was first lighted, 
when a third roar, a stifled, suffocated roar, was heard. A 
huge monster dashed through the fire and smoke ! 

The tigress at last ! 

“ Fire ! ” shouted Banks. 

Ten shots rang out, though we found afterwards that not 
one had touched the animal. 

Amid volumes of smoke, a second and yet longer bound 
carried the animal towards the thicket. 

Captain Hood, who waited with the greatest coolness, 
fired, hitting her below the shoulder. 

Like a lightning flash the tigress was upon him, over he 
went, and in another moment her terrible claws would have 
torn open his head. 

But Kalagani sprang forward, knife in hand. 

In an instant the brave fellow had seized the tigress by 
the throat. 

The animal on this sudden attack shook off the native, 
and turned upon him. 

Feeling himself free, the captain leaped up, and grasping 
the knife which had fallen from Kalagani’s hand, plunged 
it into the creature’s very heart. 

The tigress rolled over. 

This exciting scene had taken place in less time than it 
takes to write it. 



A huge monster dashed through the fire and smoke. 


Page 78 . 




































The natives scolding the dead tigress, 


Page 79 , 


A QUEEN OF THE TERRAI. 


79 


“ Bag mahryaga ! Bag mahryaga ! ” shouted the natives, — 
meaning, “ the tigress is dead l ” 

Yes, quite dead ! But what a magnificent animal ! Ten 
feet from muzzle to tail, tall in proportion, and its enor- 
mous paws armed with long claws, which looked as if they 
had been sharpened up on a grindstone ! 

Whilst we were admiring the creature the natives, who 
had good reason for the grudge they bore against it, over- 
whelmed it with invectives. 

Kalagani approached Captain Hood. 

“ I thank you, sahib ? ” he said. 

“ What are you thanking me for ? ” cried Hood. “ It’s I 
who owe you thanks, my brave fellow ! If it hadn’t been 
for you, I should have been done for ! ” 

“ I should have been killed without your help ! ” replied 
the man coldly. 

“ What ! By Jove — didn’t you rush forward, knife in hand, 
to stab the tigress just as she was going to tear my skull 
open ! ” 

“You killed him though, sahib, and that makes your 
forty-sixth ! ” 

“ Hurrah ! hurrah ! ” cried the natives. “ Hurrah for 
Captain Hood ! ” 

The captain had certainly every right to add this tigress 
to his list, but he gave Kalagani a grateful shake of the 
hand. 

“Come to Steam House,” said Banks to the man 


8o 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“Your shoulder has been torn, and is bleeding ; but we 
will find something in our medicine-chest to heal the 
wound. 

Kalagani acquiesced, and so, having taken leave «of the 
inhabitants of Souari, who loaded us with thanks, we all 
proceeded in the direction of our sanatarium. 

The shikarrees now left us, to return to the kraal. Again 
they went back empty-handed, and if Mathias van 
Guitt had counted on this “ Queen of the Terrai,” he 
must mourn for her ; under the circumstances it was 
utterly impossible to take her alive. 

We reached Steam House about midday. 

Here unexpected news awaited us. To our extreme 
disappointment Colonel Munro, Sergeant McNeil, and 
Goumi had gone away. 

A note addressed to Banks told us not to be uneasy 
at their absence ; that Sir Edward was desirous of recon- 
noitring the Nepaulese frontier, so as to clear up certain 
suspicions relating to the companions of Nana Sahib, but 
that he would return before the time at which we had 
arranged to leave the Himmalayas. 

On hearing this note read, I fancied that an involuntary 
movement denoting vexation escaped Kalagani. 

What could have occasioned this ? I was mistaken no 
doubt. 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


8l 


CHAPTER V. 

A NIGHT ATTACK. 

The colonel’s unexpected departure made us seriously 
uneasy. He was evidently still brooding over past events. 
But what could we do ? Follow Sir Edward ? We were 
ignorant of the direction he had taken, or even what point 
of the Nepaulese frontier he wished to reach. 

On the other hand, we could not conceal from ourselves 
that as he had said nothing to Banks about this plan, it 
was because he dreaded his friend’s expostulations and 
wished to avoid hearing them. Banks much regretted 
having followed us on our expedition. 

All we could do now was to resign ourselves and wait. 

Colonel Munro would certainly return before the end of 
August, that month being the last we were to pass in 
the sanatarium before proceeding south-west by the road 
to Bombay, 

Kalagani, who was well doctored by Banks, only re- 
mained four-and-twenty hours in Steam House. His 

VOL. II. G 


82 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


wound began to heal rapidly, and he left us, to return to 
his duties at the kraal. 

The month of August was ushered in by violent rains — 
weather bad enough to give a frog a cold in its head, as 
Captain Hood remarked ; but as there was less wet than 
in July, it was consequently more propitious for our 
excursions into the Terrai. 

Intercourse with the kraal was frequent. Mathias van 
Guitt continued dissatisfied. He, too, hoped to leave his 
camp in the beginning of September ; but a lion, two 
tigers, and two leopards were still wanting, and he needed 
them to complete his troupe. 

By way of retaliation, instead of the actors which he 
wished to engage on his employers’ account, others came 
and presented themselves at his agency, for whom he had 
no occasion. 

Thus, on the 4th of August, a fine bear was caught in 
one of his traps. 

We happened to be in the kraal when the shikarrees 
brought back a cage containing a prisoner of great size, 
with black fur, sharp claws, and long hairy ears, which is a 
speciality of the ursine family in India. 

“ Now what do I want with this useless tardigrade ? ” 
exclaimed the naturalist, shrugging his shoulders. 

“ Brother Ballon ! Brother Ballon ! repeated the shi- 
karrees. 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


33 


Apparently though the natives are only nephews of 
tigers, they are the brothers of bears. 

But Mathias van Guitt, notwithstanding this degree of 
relationship, received brother Ballon with a very evident 
show of ill-humour. It certainly did not please him to 
catch bears when he wanted tigers. What was he to do 
with this inconvenient beast ? It did not suit him to feed 
the animal without hopes of making anything by it. The 
Indian bear is little in request in the European market. 
It has not the mercantile value of the American grizzly, 
nor the Polar bear. Therefore Mathias van Guitt, being a 
good business-man, did not care to possess a cumbersome 
brute, which he might find it very difficult to get rid of! 

“ Will you have him ? ” asked he of Captain Hood. 

“ What on earth do you expect me to do with him ? ” 
returned the captain. 

“You can make him into beefsteaks,” replied the zoo- 
logist, “ if I may make use of the catachresis ! ” 

“ Mr. van Guitt,” said Banks gravely, “ the catachresis 
is allowable, when for lack of any other expression, it 
renders the thought properly. 

“ That is quite my opinion,” replied the zoologist. 

“ Well, Hood,” said Banks, “ will you or will you not 
take Mr. van Guitt’s bear? ” 

“Of course not,” replied the captain. “To eat bear 
steaks when once the bear is killed is all very well ; but to 


G 2 


8 4 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


kill a bear on purpose to make steaks of him isn’t an 
appetizing job ! ” 

“ Then you may give that plantigrade his liberty,” said 
Van Guitt, turning to his shikarrees. 

They obeyed. The cage was brought out of the kraal. 
One of the men opened the door. 

Brother Ballon, who seemed rather ashamed of the situa- 
tion, did not require to be asked twice. He walked calmly 
out of the cage, shook his head, which might be interpreted 
as meaning thanks, and marched off uttering a grunt of 
satisfaction. 

“ That is a good deed you have performed,” said Banks 
“ It will bring you luck, Mr. van Guitt ! ” 

Banks was right enough. On the 6th of August the 
zoologist was rewarded by procuring one of the animals he 
wished for. 

These are the circumstances of the capture : Mathias 
van Guitt, Captain Hood, and I, accompanied by Fox, 
Storr, and Kalagani, had been beating a thicket of cactus 
and lentisks since daybreak, when a half-stifled roar was 
heard. 

With our guns ready cocked, and walking near together 
so as to guard against an isolated attack, we proceeded 
immediately to the suspected spot. 

Fifty paces off the naturalist made us halt. He 
appeared to recognize the animal by the nature of the 



Page 84 . 


i 


The captive set free 




















¥ 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


35 


roar, and addressing himself more particularly to Captain 
Hood, — 

“ No useless firing, I beg,” he whispered. 

Then advancing a few steps, whilst we, obeying his sign, 
remained behind, — 

“ A lion ! ” he cried. 

There indeed, at the end of a strong rope fastened to 
the forked branch of a tree, an animal was struggling. 

The fierce beast, hanging by one of its fore paws, which 
was tight in the slip-knot of the rope, gave terrible jerks 
without managing to free itself. 

Captain Hood’s first impulse, in spite of Van Guitt’s 
request, was to make ready to fire. 

“ Do not fire, captain ! ” exclaimed the naturalist. “ I 
conjure you not to fire ! ” 

“But—” 

“ No, no ; I tell you ! That lion is caught in one of my 
own snares, and he belongs to me ! ” 

It was indeed a gallows-snare, at once simple and very 
ingenious. 

A very strong rope is fixed to the branch of a tree which 
is both tough and flexible. This branch is then bent 
down to the ground, so that the lower end of the cord, 
terminating in a running loop, hangs in a notch cut in a 
stake fixed firmly in the ground. On this stake is placed 
a bait in such a position that if any animal wishes to get 


86 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


at it, he must put either his head or one of his paws in 
the noose. But as soon as he does this, and moves the 
bait ever so slightly, the cord is disengaged from the stake, 
the branch flies up, the animal is raised, and at the same 
moment a heavy cylinder of wood, sliding along the rope, 
falls on the knot, fixing it tightly and rendering vain all 
the efforts of the suspended animal to get free. 

This species of snare is frequently set in the Indian 
forests, and wild animals allow themselves to be caught 
in them far more frequently than one would be tempted to 
believe. It usually happens that the beast is seized by the 
neck, causing almost immediate strangulation, while at the 
same time the skull is half fractured by the heavy wooden 
cylinder. But the lion which was now struggling before our 
eyes had only been caught by the paw. He was decidedly 
“all alive and kicking,” as Captain Hood remarked, and 
well worthy to figure among the zoologist’s guests. 

Mathias van Guitt, in high delight, at once despatched 
Kalagani to the kraal, with orders to bring a cage in 
charge of a driver. Whilst he was gone we had ample 
leisure and opportunity to observe the captive, whose fury 
was redoubled by our presence. 

The naturalist never took his eyes off him. 

He walked round and round the tree, taking good care, 
however, to keep out of reach of the claws which the poor 
lion struck Out in every direction. 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


87 


In half an hour’s time the cage appeared, drawn by two 
buffaloes. The suspended animal was cut down, not with- 
out some trouble, and we took the road to the kraal. 

“ Truly I was begginning to despair,” said Van Guitt. 
“ Lions do not figure in great numbers among the nemoral 
beasts of India — ” 

“Nemoral ?” said Captain Hood. 

“Yes, beasts which haunt forests, and I have reason to 
congratulate myself on capturing this animal, which will 
do honour to my menagerie.” 

Dating from this day, Mathias van Guitt had no 
further reason to complain of ill-luck. 

On the nth of August two leopards were taken to- 
gether in that first trap from which we liberated the 
naturalist. 

These creatures were cheetahs, similar to the one which 
so audaciously attacked Behemoth on the plains of Rohil- 
kund, and which we were not able to shoot. 

Two tigers only were now required to complete Van 
Guitt’s stock. 

It was now the 15th of August. Colonel Munro had 
not yet reappeared, and we had not received any news of 
him. Banks was more uneasy than he cared to show. 
He interrogated Kalagani, who knew the Nepaul frontier, 
as to the danger Sir Edward might run by venturing into 
these independent territories. 


88 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The native assured him that not one of Nana Sahib’s 
partisans remained within the confines of Thibet. How- 
ever, he seemed to regret that the colonel had not chosen 
him for a guide. His services would have been very use- 
ful in a country, with every path of which he was well 
acquainted. But there was no use now in thinking of 
joining him. 

In the meanwhile, Captain Hood and Fox more especi- 
ally continued their excursions in the Terrai. Aided by 
the shikarrees, they contrived to kill three more tigers of 
medium size, not without great risk. Two of the animals 
went to the captain’s account, the third to his man. 

“ Forty-eight ! ” said Hood, who greatly longed to make 
up the round number of fifty before quitting the Hima- 
layas. 

“ Thirty-nine ! ” said Fox, without counting a formidable 
panther which had fallen by his gun. 

On the 20th of August the last but one of the tigers 
wanted by Van Guitt was found in one of the pits, which 
either by instinct or chance the creatures had till then 
escaped. As is usually the case, the animal was hurt in 
its fall, but the injury was not serious. A few days’ rest 
was sufficient to effect a cure, so that there would be 
nothing visible when delivery was made to Messrs. Hagen- 
beck, of Hamburg. 

The use of this pit is regarded by connoisseurs as a bar- 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


89 


barous method. When it is merely a question of destroy- 
ing the animals, any way is good ; but when it is necessary 
to take them alive, death is too often the consequence of 
their fall, especially when they are precipitated into a pit 
fifteen or twenty feet deep, destined for the capture of 
elephants. Out of ten there may be only one without some 
mortal injury. Therefore, even in Mysore, the naturalist 
told us, where the plan was at first so highly extolled, they 
are now beginning to give it up. 

Mathias van Guitt being anxious to set out for Bombay, 
did all in his power to obtain his last tiger. 

It was not long before he had it in his possession, but 
at what a price ! This incident deserves a detailed account, 
for the animal was dearly — too dearly — bought. 

An expedition had been arranged by Captain Hood, 
for the evening of the 26th of August. Circumstances 
combined to render it a favourable opportunity — a cloud- 
less sky, a calm, still night, and a waning moon. When 
the darkness is very profound, wild beasts do not care to 
quit their lairs, but a half-light attracts them. Thus the 
meniscus — a word which Mathias van Guitt applied to 
the crescent moon — shed a few faint beams after mid- 
night. 

Captain Hood and I, Fox and Storr, who had taken a 
liking for the chase, formed the nucleus of this expedition, 
which was joined by the zoologist, Kalagani, and a few of 
the natives. 


9 o 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Dinner ended, after taking leave of Banks, who had 
declined accompanying us, we left Steam House about 
seven in the evening, and at eight reached the kraal, with- 
out having met with any misadventure. 

Mathias van Guitt was just finishing his supper. He 
received us in his usual demonstrative style. A council 
of war was held, and a plan agreed upon. 

It was thought advisable to lie in wait at the edge of a 
stream, falling down one of those ravines called “ nullahs,” 
a couple of miles from the kraal, at a place which a pair of 
tigers visited every night. No bait had been placed at this 
spot, as the natives pronounced it useless. A battue 
recently made in that part of the Terrai proved that the 
need to quench their thirst was sufficient to attract the 
tigers to the bottom of that nullah. They also said that it 
would be easy for us to post ourselves advantageously 
there. 

As we were not to leave the kraal before midnight, and 
it was then but eight o’clock, we had to wait with what 
patience we might until the hour for departure, 

“ Gentlemen,” said Mathias van Guitt, “ my habitation 
is entirely at your disposal. I invite you to do as I intend 
doing, lie down and endeavour to obtain some sleep. We 
shall have to rise more than early, and a few hours slumber 
will do much to fit us for our exertions. 

“ Do you care to have a snooze, Maucler ? ” asked 
Captain Hood. 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


91 


“ No, thanks,” I answered, “ and I would rather keep 
myself awake by walking about than be roused out of my 
first sleep.” 

“Just as you please, gentlemen,” answered the zoologist. 
“ As for myself, I already feel that spasmodic winking of 
the eyelid which is caused by the need of sleep. You see 
I have already the pendulum movement ! ” 

And Mathias van Guitt, raising his arms and throwing 
back his head and body, gave vent to several portentous 
yawns. 

Then making us a profound bow, he retired into his hut, 
and was doubtless soon fast asleep. 

“ Now what are we going to do ?” asked I. 

“ Let us walk about, Maucler,” answered Captain Hood, 
“ up and down in the kraal. It is a fine night, and I shall 
feel much more fit for a start than if I had three or four 
hours’ nap first. Besides, though sleep is called our best 
friend, it is a friend who often keeps us waiting ! ” 

We were now strolling up and down in the enclosure, 
thinking or chatting as we chose. Storr, “whose best 
friend was not likely to keep him waiting,” was already 
asleep, lying at the foot of a tree. The shikarrees and the 
rest were all crouched in their several corners, and no one 
in the place was awake but ourselves. 

Keeping a watch would have been useless, as the kraal 
was entirely surrounded by a close and solid palisade. 

Kalagani himself made sure that the door was securely 


92 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


fastened ; then, that duty performed, he wished us good- 
night as he passed and joined his companions. 

Captain Hood and I were absolutely alone. 

Not only Van Guitt’s people, but the domestic animals 
and wild beasts were equally reposing, the first in groups 
under the trees at one end of the kraal, the latter in their 
cages. Perfect silence reigned within and without. 

Our stroll took us first to the place occupied by the 
buffaloes. These magnificent ruminants, quiet and docile, 
were not even tethered. Accustomed to repose under the 
shade of gigantic maples, there they lay, their great horns 
entangled, their feet folded beneath them, and deep, 
sonorous breathing issuing from their enormous bodies. 
Even our approach did not arouse them. One only lifted 
his huge head for a moment, and looked sleepily at us, but 
soon put it down again. 

“ See to what a state tameness, or rather domestication, 
has reduced them,” I remarked. 

“ Yes,” replied Hood ; “ and yet buffaloes are terrible 
animals when in a savage state. But though they are so 
strong, they have not agility, and what can their horns do 
against the teeth and claws of lions and tigers ? The 
advantage is decidedly on the side of the latter.” 

T alking thus, we approached the cages. There, too, all 
was still. Tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, all were asleep 
in their various compartments. Mathias van Guitt wisely 



In the kraal at night. 


Page 92 











A NIGHT ATTACK. 


93 


did not put them together until they were somewhat 
tamed by a few weeks of captivity. Otherwise, the brutes 
would most certainly have eaten each other up the very 
first day. 

The three lions crouched motionless in a half-circle 
like huge cats. Nothing of their heads could be seen, so 
buried were they in a thick muff of black fur, and they 
slept the sleep of the just. 

Slumber was less profound in the tigers’ apartment. Their 
glowing eyes flamed through the dusk. Now and again a 
great paw would be stretched out, clawing at the iron 
bars. This was the sleep of fretful and impatient carnivora. 

“ They are having bad dreams, and I feel for them ! ” 
said the compassionate captain. 

Some remorse, no doubt, troubled the three panthers, or 
at least some regret. At this hour, in their free life, they 
would have been roaming through the forest ! They would 
have prowled around the pastures in quest of living flesh. 

As to the four leopards, no nightmare disturbed their 
rest. They reposed peacefully. Two of these felines, a 
male and female, occupied the same room, being to all 
appearance as comfortable as if they were in their own 
den. 

A single compartment was still empty — the one des- 
tined for the sixth and impracticable tiger, for whose 
capture Mathias van Guitt yet lingered in the Terrai. 


94 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Our promenade had lasted for nearly an hour. After 
once more making the tour of the kraal, we seated ourselves 
at the foot of an enormous mimosa. 

Absolute silence reigned over the entire forest. The 
wind, which whistled through the trees as night fell, had 
now died away. Not a leaf rustled. 

Captain Hood and I, now seated near each other, no 
longer chatted. Not that we were becoming drowsy. It 
was rather that sort of absorption, more moral than 
physical, which is the effect produced by the perfect repose 
of nature. One thinks without forming the thought. One 
dreams as a man dreams without sleeping, when the wide 
open eyes gaze far away, seeing only some vision of the 
fancy. 

One peculiarity surprised the captain, and unconsciously 
speaking in an undertone, as if fearing to break the silence, 
he said, — 

“ Maucler, this stillness astonishes me ! Generally there 
are wild beasts roaring all night and making the forest a 
most noisy place. If not tigers or panthers, at any rate 
the jackals never rest. This kraal, full of living beings, 
ought to attract hundreds of them, and yet we hear 
nothing, not a snap of dry wood, or even a howl. If 
Mathias van Guitt was awake he would wonder as much 
as I do, no doubt, and would find some long break-jaw 
word by which to express his surprise ! ” 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


95 


“Your observation is correct, my dear Hood,” I replied; 
“ and I do not know to what cause to attribute the absence 
of these night prowlers. But we must take care, or we 
shall end by going to sleep ourselves ! ” 

“ No, no, fight against it ! ” returned the captain, stretch- 
ing himself. “ It will soon be time for us to start.” 

And we continued to interchange sentences at somewhat 
long intervals. 

How long this lasted I cannot say, but suddenly a noise 
was heard which quickly aroused me from my drowsy 
state. 

There was no doubt about it, the noise issued from the 
wild beasts’ cage. 

Lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, till now so peaceful, 
were uttering sullen growls of anger. Pacing up and 
down their narrow dens, they seemed to scent something 
afar off, and stopped every now and again to rear them- 
selves up against the bars and sniff the air. 

“ What’s the matter with them ? ” asked I. 

“ I don’t know,” answered Hood, “ but I fear they scent 
the approach of — ” 

At that moment tremendous roars were heard outside 
the enclosure. 

“ Tigers ! ” exclaimed Hood, running towards Van Guitt’s 
hut. 

But such was the violence of the roaring that all the 


9 6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


inhabitants of the kraal were already on foot, and the 
zoologist met him at the door. 

“ An attack ! ” he cried. 

“ I believe so,” replied the captain. 

“ Stop ! I will see ! ” 

And without taking time to finish his phrase, Mathias 
van Guitt, seizing a ladder, placed it against the palisade. 
In a moment he was at the top. 

“Ten tigers and a dozen panthers ! ” he cried. 

“ That’s serious,” answered Captain Hood. “ We in- 
tended hunting them, and now they have come hunting 
us!” 

“Your guns — get your guns ! ” cried the zoologist. 

Obeying his orders, in half a minute we were ready to 
fire. 

Attacks by a band of wild beasts are not rare in India. 
The inhabitants of districts infested by tigers, particularly 
the Sunderbunds, have often been besieged in their dwell- 
ings. This is a dreadful event, and too often the victory 
rests with the assailants. 

In the meanwhile to the roars outside were joined howls 
and growls from the inside. The kraal was answering the 
forest. We could scarcely hear ourselves speak. 

“To the palisades!” shouted Van Guitt, making us 
understand what he wanted more by his gestures than 
his voice. 



“Ten tigers and a dozen panthers ! ” he cried 


Page q 6 










A NIGHT ATTACK. 


97 


We all hastened forward. 

At that moment, the buffaloes, a prey to the wildest 
terror, endeavoured to force their way out from their en- 
closure, while the men vainly tried to keep them back. 

Suddenly, the gate, having no doubt been insecurely 
fastened, was burst violently open, and a whole troop of 
wild beasts rushed in. 

And yet Kalagani was supposed to have closed that 
gate carefully ; he did so every evening ! 

“ To the hut ! to the hut ! ” shouted Van Guitt, running 
towards his house, which alone offered a refuge. 

But should we have time to reach it ? 

Already two shikarrees lay stretched on the earth. The 
others fled across the enclosure seeking a shelter. 

The zoologist, Storr, and six natives were already in the 
house, and closed the door just in time, as a couple of 
tigers were about to spring in. 

Kalagani, Fox, and the rest had caught hold of trees, 
and hoisted themselves up among the branches. 

As for the captain and myself we had no time nor 
opportunity for joining Van Guitt. 

“ Maucler ! Maucler ! ” shouted Hood, whose right arm 
had just received a wound. 

With a blow of his tail a huge tiger had thrown me to 
the ground. Before he had time to turn upon me, I rose 
and hastened to Captain Hood’s assistance. 


VOL. II. 


H 


9 8 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


One refuge still remained to us ; the empty compartment 
of the sixth cage. We sprung in, and in a moment we 
had closed the door, and were for a time safe from the 
brutes who threw themselves, growling savagely, against 
the iron bars. 

Such was the fierceness of the furious beasts, joined to 
the anger of the tigers imprisoned in the neighbouring 
compartments, that the cage, oscillating on its wheels, 
seemed on the point of being capsized. 

The tigers, however, soon abandoned it to attack some 
more certain prey. 

What a scene it was ! not a detail of it was lost to us, 
looking through the bars of our cage ! 

“ The world is turned upside down ! ” cried Hood, who 
was almost mad with vexation. 

“ Those brutes to be out and we shut up ! ” 

“ Your wound ? ” I asked. 

“ That’s nothing ! ” 

Five or six shots were at this moment heard. 

The firing was from the hut, around which two tigers 
and three panthers were raging. 

One of the animals was killed by an explosive ball from 
Storr’s rifle. 

The others retreated and fell upon the herd of buffaloes, 
who were utterly defenceless against such adversaries. 

Fox, Kalagani, and the natives, who had dropped their 



I 




\ 


t 


' 6 The world is turned upside down 


i » 


Page 98 . 












A n*‘nn willing steed. 


Page 99 









A NIGHT ATTACK. 


99 


weapons in their haste to climb the trees, could give no 
assistance. 

However, Captain Hood, taking aim between the bars 
of our cage, fired. Although his right arm being almost 
paralyzed by his wound prevented him from taking his 
usual unerring aim, he- was lucky enough to “ pot his 
forty-ninth tiger.” 

The buffaloes leaped from their enclosure and rushed 
bellowing through the kraal. They vainly endeavoured to 
gore the tigers, who, however, easily kept out of reach of 
their horns. 

One of them, mounted by a panther, his claws tearing 
its neck, rushed out and away through the forest. 

Five or six others, pursued closely by the beasts, also 
disappeared. 

A few of the tigers followed ; but the buffaloes who had 
not been able to escape, lay slaughtered and torn on the 
ground. 

Other shots were fired through the windows of the hut. 
But whilst Hood and I were doing our part, a new danger 
menaced us. 

The animals shut up in the cages, excited by the rage 
of the struggle, the smell of blood, the roars of their 
brethren, rampaged about with indescribable violence. 
Would they end by breaking their bars ? This seemed 
really likely. 

H 2 


I p 


100 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


In fact, one of the tigers’ cages was turned over. I 
thought for a moment that it would burst open and let 
them loose ! 

Fortunately nothing like this happened, and the prisoners 
could not even see what was passing outside, since it was 
the barred side of the cage which was downwards. 

“ Decidedly there are too many of them ! ” muttered 
the captain, as he reloaded. 

At that moment, a tiger made a prodigious spring, and 
clung to the fork of a tree, on which two or three shikarrees 
had sought refuge. 

One of the unfortunate men was seized and dragged 
down to the ground. 

There a panther disputed with the tiger for the pos- 
session of the dead body, crunching the bones in the midst 
of a sea of blood. 

“Fire now ! Why don’t you fire ! ” shouted the captain, 
as if Van Guitt and his companions could hear him. 

As to us, we could do nothing more. Our cartridges 
were exhausted, and we could only remain powerless 
spectators of the scene. 

Even this did not last long, a tiger in the next com- 
partment to ours who had been endeavouring to break 
out, managed by giving a violent shake to destroy the 
equilibrium of the cage. It oscillated for a moment, and 
then over it went. 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


IOI 


Slightly bruised by the fall, we soon scrambled again to 
our knees. The sides bore the shock, but now we could 
no longer see what was going on outside. 

Though we could not see, we could at least hear ! 
What a hideous din ! What a horrid odour of blood ! The 
fight seemed to have taken a still more violent character. 
What had happened ? Had the prisoners in the other 
cages escaped ? Where they attacking Van Guitt’s hut ? 
Were the tigers and panthers springing into the trees and 
tearing down the natives ? 

“And we all the time shut up in this abominable box ! ” 
exclaimed Captain Hood, wild with excitement and rage. 

Nearly a quarter of an hour — which appeared whole 
hours to us — passed in this way. 

Then the uproar began to calm down. The roaring 
and howling diminished. The bounds of the tigers which 
occupied the compartments in one cage were less frequent. 
Had the massacre come to an end ? 

All at once, I heard the gate of the kraal slammed to 
with great noise ; and Kalagani’s voice calling to us loudly, 
then Fox shouting, — 

“ Captain ! captain ! ” 

“ This way ! ” cried Hood. 

He was heard, and we soon felt the cage being lifted. 
A moment more and we were free. 

“ Fox ! Storr ! ” called the captain, whose first thought 
was for his companions. 


102 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ Here, sir ! ” answered both the men. 

They were not even wounded. Mathias van Guitt and 
Kalagani were equally safe and sound. Two tigers and 
a panther lay lifeless on the ground. The others had left 
the kraal, and Kalagani had shut them out. We were all 
in safety. None of the beasts of the menagerie had effected 
an escape during the combat, and besides that the zoolo- 
gist now counted one prisoner more. This was a young 
tiger imprisoned in the small travelling cage, which had 
upset over him, and under which he was caught as in a 
snare. 

The stock of Mathias van Guitt was thus completed ; 
but it had cost him dear! Five of his buffaloes were 
killed, and three of his natives, horribly mutilated, weltered 
in their blood on the grass of the enclosure ! 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. 


103 


CHAPTER VI. 

MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. 

DURING the rest of the night no other incident occurred 
either in or outside the kraal. The gate was securely 
fastened this time. How was it that at the very time 
the wild beasts surrounded the palisade it should have 
been open ? This was truly most unaccountable, for 
Kalagani had himself placed the strong bars which 
fastened it. 

Captain Hood’s wound gave him considerable pain, 
although it was but skin-deep. A little more though would 
have caused him to lose the use of his right arm. 

J^or my part, I felt nothing of the violent blow which 
had thrown me to the ground. 

We resolved to return to Steam House as soon as day 
began to dawn. 

As to Mathias van Guitt, except for regretting the loss 
of three of his people, he was not at all disheartened, al- 
though the being deprived of his buffaloes must put him to 


104 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


some inconvenience when the time for his departure 
came. 

“ It is but the chances of the trade/’ he said, “ and I 
have for long had a presentiment that an adventure of 
this kind would befall me.” 

He then proceeded to arrange for the interment of the 
three natives, whose remains were laid in a corner of the 
kraal in a grave deep enough to prevent any wild animals 
disturbing them. 

Soon, however, the dawn began to light up the dark 
avenues of the Terrai, and after many shakes of the hand, 
we took leave of Mathias van Guitt. 

To accompany us on our walk through the forest the 
zoologist put at our disposal Kalagani and two natives. 
His offer was accepted, and at six o’clock we left the 
kraal. 

No untoward incident marked our return journey. Of 
tigers and panthers there was not a trace. The animals 
having been so severely repulsed had no doubt retreated 
to their dens, and this was not the time to go and rouse 
them up. As to the buffaloes which had escaped from the 
kraal, they had either been slain and devoured in the depths 
of the forest, or, if still alive, having fled to a great distance, 
it was not to be expected that their instinct would lead 
them back to the encampment. They must therefore be 
considered as positively lost to the naturalist. 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. 


105 


At the border of the forest, Kalagani and the other men 
left us, and not long after Fan and Niger welcomed us 
back with joyful barks to Steam House. 

I recounted our adventures to Banks, and it is needless 
to say that he congratulated us heartily on having got off 
so well ! Too often in attacks of this nature not one of 
the assailed party escapes to tell the tale of the exploits of 
the assailants ! 

As to Captain Hood, he was obliged, whether he liked 
it or not, to keep his arm in a sling ; but the engineer, who 
was the doctor of the expedition, found his wound not 
serious, and declared that in a few days no trace of it would 
remain. 

At heart Captain Hood was much mortified at having 
received a wound without having returned it. And yet, 
he had added another tiger to the forty-eight already on 
his list. 

On the afternoon of the 27th our attention was aroused 
by the joyful and excited barking of the dogs. 

We hastened out and saw Colonel Munro, McNeil, and 
Goumi. Their return was a real relief to us. Had Sir 
Edward succeeded in his expedition ? This we did not yet 
know. He was there, however, safe and sound, and that 
was the most important thing after all. 

Banks immediately hurried up to him, grasped his hand, 
and gave him a questioning look. 


IO 6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“Nothing!” was all the reply he received, accompanied 
by a shake of the head. 

This word signified not only that the search of the 
Nepaulese frontier had resulted in nothing, but that any 
conversation on this subject would be useless. It appeared 
to mean that there was nothing to speak about. 

McNeil and Goumi, whom Banks interrogated in the 
evening, were more explicit. They told him that Colonel 
Munro had indeed wished to survey that portion of Hin- 
doostan in which Nana Sahib had taken refuge before his 
reappearance in the Bombay Presidency ; to ascertain what 
had become of the Nabob’s companions ; to search for any 
traces which might remain of their passage over that part 
of the frontier ; to endeavour to learn whether, instead of 
Nana Sahib, his brother, Balao Rao, was hiding in that 
country. Such had been Sir Edward’s object. 

The result of this search was that there could no longer 
be any doubt that the rebels had left the country. There 
was not a vestige of that camp in which the false obsequies 
of Nana Sahib had been celebrated. No news was heard 
of Balao Rao. Of his companions, nothing that could urge 
them to set off on the track. The Nabob killed in the 
defiles of the Sautpoora Mountains, his friends probably 
dispersed beyond the limits of the peninsula, the work of 
the avenger seemed already performed. To quit the 
Himalayas, continue southwards, and thus finish our journey 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. 1 07 

from Calcutta to Bombay, was all we had now to think 
of. 

The departure was fixed for a week from that time, for 
the 3rd of September. That time was necessary to com- 
plete the healing of Captain Hood’s wound. Colonel 
Munro too, who was plainly fatigued by his excursion 
through that rough country, was also glad of a few days’ 
rest. 

During this time Banks began his preparations by 
getting our train in order, and in a state for the journey 
from jthe Himalayas to Bombay. 

To begin with it was agreed that the route should be a 
second time altered so as to avoid the great towns of the 
north west, Mirat, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jansi, and others, 
in which so many disasters of the mutiny of 1857 had 
taken place. With the last rebels of the insurrection had 
disappeared all that could arouse the recollections of 
Colonel Munro. 

Our travelling dwelling would thus go straight through 
the provinces without stopping at the principal cities, but 
the country was well worth a visit, if only for its natural 
beauties. The immense kingdom of Scindia is unequalled 
in this respect. The most picturesque roads in the penin- 
sula now lay before Behemoth. 

The season of the monsoons had ended with the rainy 
season, which is not prolonged beyond the month of 


io8 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


August. The first days of September promised a most 
agreeable temperature, which would render the second 
part of our journey far pleasanter than the first. 

During this last week of our stay in the sanatarium, Fox 
and Goumi purveyed daily for the pantry. Accompanied 
by the two dogs they found swarms of partridges, 
pheasants, and bustards. These birds, preserved in 
the ice-house, were to supply us with game during the 
journey. 

We paid two or three more visits to the kraal. There 
Mathias van Guitt was also preparing for his departure 
for Bombay, bearing his troubles with the philosophy 
which carried him calmly through all the miseries of 
existence both great and small. 

The capture of the tenth tiger had completed his stock. 
It was now only necessary to make up the number of his 
buffaloes. Not one of those which fled during the night 
attack had been recaptured. The chances were that all, 
dispersed in the forest, had met with violent deaths. The 
difficulty was how to make up the teams. In hopes of 
obtaining animals among the scattered farms and villages 
of the neighbourhood, Van Guitt had sent Kalagani to 
inquire, and awaited his return with some impatience. 

The last week of our abode at the sanatarium passed 
without incident. Captain Hood’s wound gradually healed, 
and he seemed to hope for one more expedition before 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT'S FAREWELL. 


IO9 


closing the campaign. But this idea Colonel Munro would 
not encourage. 

Why risk himself needlessly while his arm was weak ? 

During the rest of our journey he would be very likely 
to meet with sport en route . 

“Besides,” observed Banks, “ you surely ought to be 
satisfied to find yourself alive and well, with a score of 
forty-nine tigers fallen to your gun. The balance is all in 
your favour.” 

“ Forty-nine — yes,” returned the captain with a sigh ; 
“ but I wanted fifty.” 

He was evidently dissatisfied. 

The 2nd of Sept ember arrived, and we were on the eve 
of departure. 

In the morning Goumi came in to announce a visit from 
the purveyor. 

Van Guitt, accompanied by Kalagani, came to Steam 
House ; no doubt he wished to take formal leave at the 
last moment. 

Colonel Munro received him cordially, and the Dutch- 
man plunged into a course of speechifying more astonish- 
ing than ever. It struck me that his high-flown compli- 
ments concealed something which he hesitated to pro- 
pose. 

Banks brought him to the point by inquiring whether 
he had succeeded in making up his buffalo teams. 


no 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ No, indeed, Mr. Banks,” he replied, “ Kalagani has been 
unsuccessful. Although I gave him carte blanche as to price, 
he failed to procure a single pair of these useful animals. 
I am forced to admit myself wholly at a loss how to 
convey my menagerie to the nearest railway station. This 
loss of my buffaloes, by the sudden attack on the night 
between the 25th and 26th of August, embarrasses me 
exceedingly. My cages with their four-footed prisoners 
are heavy, and — ” 

“ Well, how are you going to manage ? ” demanded the 
engineer. 

“I can’t exactly say,” returned Mathias. I plan — I 
contrive — I hesitate — but the fact is that on the 20th of 
September, that is to say eighteen days hence, I am bound 
to deliver the animals at Bombay.” 

“ In eighteen days ! ” echoed Banks. “ Why you have 
not an hour to lose.” 

“ I know it, sir, and I have but one resource, just one.” 

“ What may that be ? ” 

“ It is to entreat the colonel to do me a very great 
favour.” 

“ Speak freely, Mr. van Guitt said Colonel Munro, “ if 
I can oblige you, I will do so with pleasure.” 

Mathias bowed, placed his right hand on his lips, 
swayed himself from side to side, and in every gesture 
betokened himself overwhelmed by unexpected kindness. 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. Ill 

He then explained that understanding our giant engine 
to be of immense power, he wished to know if it would be 
possible to attach his caravan of cages to our train, and so 
to drag them to Etawah, the nearest station on the line 
between Delhi and Allahabad. 

The colonel turned to the engineer, saying, — 

“ Can we do what Mr. van Guitt requires ? ” 

“ I see no difficulty,” replied Banks. “ Behemoth will 
never know that he draws a heavier weight.” 

“ It shall be done, Mr. van Guitt,” said Colonel Munro. 
“ We will take your goods to Etawah. People ought to 
be neighbourly and help one another even in the Hima- 
layas.” 

“ I am aware of your goodness, colonel,” replied Van 
Guitt, “ and indeed felt I might reckon on it.” 

“ You were right,” said Colonel Munro. 

Everything being thus arranged, the Dutchman pre- 
pared to return to his kraal, in order to dismiss such of 
his attendants as were no longer required, retaining only 
four shikarrees who were wanted to tend the animals. 

“ We meet to morrow, then,” said Colonel Munro. 

“To-morrow, gentlemen, I shall be ready, and waiting 
for you and your steam monster at my kraal. 

And the purveyor, delighted with the success of his 
visit, retired with all the airs of an actor leaving the 
stage. 


1 12 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Kalagani, after fixedly regarding Colonel Munro, whose 
journey to the frontiers of Nepaul appeared to interest 
him deeply, followed his master. 

The last arrangements were completed. Everything 
was in travelling order, and of the Steam House sana- 
tarium nothing remained. 

We were ready to descend to the plains, where our 
elephant was to leave us and fetch the Dutchman’s 
caravan to join our train, which then was to start across 
Rohilkund. 

At seven o’clock on the morning of the 3rd September, 
Behemoth stood ready to resume the duties he had hitherto 
so well fulfilled. But a very unexpected occurrence now 
excited the surprise of every one. 

After lighting the furnace to heat the boiler, Kalouth 
opened the different flues and the soot-doors, in order to 
be sure that nothing impeded the draught of air, but 
started back when, with a strange sound of hissing, a score 
of what seemed like leathern thongs darted towards him 
from the tubes. 

“ Hollo, Kalouth ! What’s the matter ? ” said Banks. 

“ A swarm of serpents, sahib,” cried the stoker. 

In fact, what appeared like straps were snakes which 
had chosen to make themselves at home in the furnace 
chimneys, whence the heat now dislodged them. 
Some were scorched, and fell to the ground; had not 




a ANC*U 


P'Jge\ II3- 


A serpent up the chimne) 
























MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. 113 

Kalouth opened the valves, all would speedily have been 
roasted. 

“ What ! ” cried Captain Hood, running forward, “ has 
Behemoth been cherishing a brood of serpents in his 
bosom ? ” 

Yes, of the most dangerous and numerous description 
and a superb tiger-python now showed his pointed head 
from the tip of the elephant’s trunk, and began to unfold 
his coils, amid spiral volumes of smoke. The other 
serpents, which were so lucky as to escape with their 
lives, quickly vanished among the bushes. 

But the python could not easily ascend the cast iron 
cylinder, and Captain Hood had time to get his rifle and 
send a bullet through its head. 

Then Goumi mounted the elephant, and scrambling up 
the trunk, succeeded, with the help of Kalouth and Storr, 
in hoisting out the huge reptile. 

It was a most magnificent boa, in a vesture of gorgeous 
green and purple, adorned with regular rings, which seemed 
as though cut out of splendid tiger skin. It was as thick 
as a man’s arm, and measured quite five yards in length. 

Truly it was a superb specimen, and would have made 
an advantageous addition to Van Guitt’s collection could 
it have been secured alive. 

The excitement of this incident having subsided, 
Kalouth rearranged his furnace, the boiler soon began to 


VOL. II. 


I 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


1 14 

do its part, and steam being fairly got up, we were ready 
to be off. 

One last glance over the marvellous panorama spread 
before us to the south, one [last lingering look towards the 
indented outlines of the mighty mountain peaks which 
stood forth sharply against the northern sky, and then the 
shriek of the whistle gave notice of departure. 

We descended the winding road without difficulty, the 
atmospheric brake acting admirably on the steep pitches, 
and in an hour we halted on the lower limit of the Terrai, 
at the edge of the plain. 

Here Behemoth, under charge of Banks and the fireman, 
left us, and at a dignified pace entered one of the broad 
roads through the forest. 

A couple of hours later we heard the snorting and puffing 
of the steam giant, and he issued from the thicket of trees 
with the Dutchman’s caravan menagerie in tow. 

Mathias van Guitt made his appearance, and renewed 
his thanks to the colonel. The wild beast cages, with a 
van in front for the purveyor and his men, were attached 
to our train, now composed of eight carriages. 

Banks gave the signal, the regulation whistle sounded, 
and Behemoth, with stately motion, began to advance 
along the magnificent road leading to the south. The 
addition of Van Guitt and his wild beast vans made no 
difference to him. 


MATHIAS VAN GUITTS FAREWELL. 115 

“Well, Van Guitt, what do you think of it ?” inquired 
Captain Hood. 

“ I think, captain,” replied Mathias, with some reason, 
“ that this elephant would be much more wonderful if he 
were made of flesh and blood.” 

We did not follow the route by which we had reached the 
footjof the Himalayas, but travelled south-west towards 
the little town of Philibit. We went at a moderate and 
easy pace, and met with no hindrance or discomfort. 

The Dutchman daily took his seat at our table, when 
his splendid appetite never failed to do honour to the 
culinary talents of Monsieur Parazard. 

It speedily became necessary to call upon our sportsmen 
to do their duty, and Captain Hood resumed his labours 
for the larder. 

Food was required for our four-footed passengers, as 
well as for ourselves, and the shikarees took care to provide 
it. They were clever hunters ; and led by Kalagani, him- 
self a first-rate shot, kept up a supply of bison and antelope 
meat. 

Kalagani maintained his peculiar and reserved manners, 
although very kindly treated by Colonel Munro, who was 
not a man to forget a good service done him. 

On the 10th of September our train skirted the town of 
Philibit without making a halt, but a considerable number 
of natives came to see us. 

I 2 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


II 6 

Van Guitt’s wild beast show attracted little attention in 
comparison with Behemoth, and without more than a pass- 
ing glance at the splendid creatures within their cages, all 
hastened to admire the Steam Elephant. 

We traversed the great plains of Northern India, pass- 
ing, at a distance of some leagues, Bareilly, one of the 
chief cities of Rohilkund. Sometimes we were surrounded 
by forests filled with birds of brilliant plumage, some- 
times by dense thickets of the thorny acacia two or 
three yards high, which is called by the English “ Wait- 
a-bit.” 

There we met with many wild boars, whose flesh was of 
a remarkably fine flavour, from the fact of their feeding 
on the yellowish berry of these plants. These boars are 
extremely savage animals, and on several occasions they 
were killed by Captain Hood and Kalagani, under circum- 
stances which displayed to advantage all the courage and 
skill possessed by our mighty hunters. 

Between Philibit, and Etawah railway station our train 
had to cross the Upper Ganges, and shortly after an im- 
portant tributary, the Kali-Nacli. 

The menagerie vans were detached, and Steam House, 
assuming its nautical character, easily floated from one 
bank to the other. 

It was different with the Dutchman’s vans. They had 
to be transported singly by a ferry boat, and though tedious, 


MATHIAS VAN GUITT’S FAREWELL. 117 

the passage was effected without much difficulty, as both 
he and his men knew exactly what to do. 

At length without any adventure worthy of notice we 
reached the line of rail between Delhi and Allahabad. 

Here the two parts of our train were to separate, the 
first continuing to descend southwards across the vast terri- 
tories of Scind, in order to reach the Vindhyas and the 
presidency of Bombay. The second, was to be placed 
on railway trucks to travel to Bombay, and so by ship 
to Europe. 

We encamped together for one night, and the respective 
starts were to be made at daybreak. 

Mathias van Guitt was about to dismiss such of his 
attendants as were no longer necessary to him, retaining 
the natives only until he should reach the ship. 

Among the men now paid off was Kalagani, the hunter. 

We had become attached to this native since he had 
rendered good service both to Colonel Munro and Captain 
Hood, and Banks, perceiving him to be at a loss for em- 
ployment, asked if it would suit him to accompany us as 
far as Bombay. 

After some moments consideration, Kalagani accepted 
the proposal, which seemed to please Colonel Munro very 
much. He was well acquainted with all this part of India, 
and attached to the staff of Steam House was likely to be 
extremely useful to us. 


1 1 8 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The next morning the camp was struck. Steam was 
up; and Storr only awaited final orders. 

The ceremony of leave-taking was very simple on our 
part, highly theatrical on that of Van Guitt, who amplified 
his expressions of thanks, and specially distinguished him- 
self in the final scene, when, as he disappeared from our 
sight he indicated by pantomimic gestures that never, 
either here below or in life hereafter, should our kindness 
fade from his memory. 



The ceremony of leave-taking 


Page 118 







* 




PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


1 19 


CHAPTER VII. 

PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 

OUR position on the 18th of September stood thus, — 
Distance from Calcutta . . 812 miles. 

From Sanatarium on the Himalayas 236 miles. 
From Bombay .... 1000 miles. 

With regard to distance, not half of our proposed 
journey had been accomplished, but reckoning the seven 
weeks spent on the Himalayan frontier above half the 
time allotted to it had elapsed. We left Calcutta on the 
6th of March, and in two months we hoped to reach the 
western shores of Hindostan. 

Avoiding the great towns concerned in the revolt of 
1 85/^, we should travel nearly due south. There being ex- 
cellent roads through Scind, we should meet no difficulties 
until we came to the mountains of Central India. 

The presence of an experienced man like Kalagani 
would give additional security as well as facility to our 


120 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


progress, as he seemed so thoroughly well acquainted with 
this part of Hindostan. 

Banks called him the first day, while Colonel Munro 
was taking his siesta, and asked in what capacity he had 
so frequently traversed these provinces. 

“ I belonged,” replied the man, “ to one of the numerous 
caravans of Brinjarees, who convey to the interior, on the 
backs of oxen, supplies of grain, either ordered by the 
government or private persons. In this capacity I have 
passed a score of times across the territories of North and 
Central India.” 

“Do such caravans still cross this part of the pen- 
insula ? ” 

“Yes, sir, they do, and at this season of the year I should 
expect to meet Brinjarees on their way north.” 

“ Well, Kalagani, you are likely to be very useful to us. 
We wish to avoid the great cities, and to pass through the 
open country. You shall be our guide.” 

“ Certainly, sir,” answered the Hindoo, in the cold tone 
which was habitual to him, and to which I could never get 
quite reconciled. Then he added, “ Shall I state in a 
general way the direction we shall have to take ? ” 

“ Do so, Kalagani,” said Banks, spreading a large map 
on the table, and preparing to verify by observation the 
information about to be given him. 

“It is very simple,” said the Indian. “A direct line 


PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


1 2 1 


takes us from the Delhi railroad to that of Bombay. The 
junction is at Allahabad. Between Etawah and the frontier 
of Bundelkund, there is but one important river to cross, 
the Jumna; between that and the Vindhyas mountains 
there is another, the Bettwa. These two rivers may have 
overflowed their banks, but I think your train would be 
able to cross them even if it were so.” 

“ There would be no serious difficulty,” replied the 
engineer. “ And having reached the Vindhyas — ? ” 

“ We should turn slightly to the south-east, in order to 
reach a practicable pass. There will be no difficulty there 
either, for I know a spot where the ascents are easy. 
Wheel carriages prefer that way ; it is the pass of 
Sirgour.” 

“ That ought to suit us,” returned Banks, “ but I perceive 
that beyond the pass of Sirgour the country is very hilly. 
Could we not approach the Vindhyas by crossing Bhopal ? ” 
“ There are a great many towns in that direction,” 
answered Kalagani; “it would be difficult to avoid them. 
The sepoys distinguished themselves particularly there 
during the war of independence.” 

I was struck by this expression, “the war of indepen- 
dence,” which Kalagani applied to the Mutiny. However, 
I reflected that it was a native, not an Englishman, who 
used ( it. Besides, we had no reason to suppose that 
Kalagani had taken part in the revolt. 


122 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ Well,” resumed Banks, “leaving the cities *of Bhopal to 
the west, are you certain that the pass of Sirgour will give 
us access to a practicable road ? ” 

“To a road I have often travelled, sir, which, after 
making the circuit of Lake Puturia, will bring you near 
Jubbulpore, on the Bombay railway.” 

“I see,” said Banks, who followed on the map all that 
the man said ; “ and after that — ? ” 

“ After that the road turns to the south-west, and, more 
or less, runs alongside the line as far as Bombay.” 

“ Of course — so it does,” returned Banks. “ I see no 
particular difficulty anywhere, and the route suits us. We 
shall not forget your services, Kalagani.” 

Kalagani made his salaam, and was about to retire, when, 
changing his mind, he again approached the engineer. 

“ Have you any question to put to me ? ” said Banks. 

“ I have, sir ; may I be permitted to ask why you 
especially want to avoid the great towns of the Bundel- 
kund?” 

Banks looked at me. There seemed no reason for con- 
cealing the facts of the case from this man, and after a little 
consideration, Colonel Munro’s position was explained to 
him. 

He listened attentively to what the engineer related to 
him, and then he said in a tone denoting surprise, — 

“ Colonel Munro has nothing more to fear from Nana 
Sahib — at least not in these provinces.” 


PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


123 


“ Neither in these provinces nor anywhere else,” returned 
Banks. “ Why do you say * in these provinces ’ ? ” 

“ Because it was reported several months ago that the 
Nabob had reappeared in the Bombay Presidency, but by 
no research could his retreat be discovered, and supposing 
him ever to have been there, it is probable that he has 
now again passed beyond the Indo-Chinese frontier.” 

This answer seemed to prove that Kalagani was ignorant 
of what had taken place in the Sautpourra Mountains, 
and that in the month of May, Nana Sahib had been slain 
by British soldiers at the Pal of Tandit. 

“ It seems that news takes a long time to reach the 
Himalayan forests ! ” exclaimed Banks. 

Kalagani looked at him fixedly, like one not in the 
least comprehending his words. 

“You do not seem to know that Nana Sahib is dead/ 
continued the engineer. 

“Nana Sahib dead ! ” cried the native. 

“ Certainly,” replied Banks, “ government announced 
the fact that he had been killed, with all the details.” 

“ Killed ? ” said Kalagani, shaking his head, “ where do 
they say Nana Sahib was killed ? ” 

“At the Pal of Tandit, in the Sautpourra Mountains.” 

“ And when ? ” 

“Nearly four months ago, on the 25th of last May.” 

I noticed a peculiar look flit over Kalagani’s face as he 
folded his arms and remained silent. 


124 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ Have you any reason,” inquired I, “ for discrediting 
the account of Nana Sahib’s death ? ” 

“ None, sir ; I believe what you tell me.” 

In another instant Banks and I were alone, and he ex- 
claimed, — 

“You see what these fellows are! They regard the 
chief of the rebel sepoys as something more than mortal, 
and because they have not seen him hanged, they never 
will believe he is dead.” 

“Why,” replied I, “that is just like the old soldiers of 
the Empire, who for twenty years after Napoleon’s death 
stoutly maintained that he was still alive.” 

Since passing across the Upper Ganges fifteen days 
previous to this, a fertile country had opened before us, 
called the Doab, a district lying in the angle formed by 
the Ganges and the Jumna, which two rivers unite near 
Allahabad. 

My impressions of the Doab are of alluvial plains cleared 
by the Brahmins twenty centuries before the Christian 
era, farming operations of the rudest description carried 
on by the peasantry, vast canal works due to English 
engineers, fields of the cotton plant, which especially 
thrives in this part of the country, the groans of the cotton 
mill machinery at work near every village, mingled with 
the songs of the men who are employed about it. 

We went on our way very comfortably. Scenery and 





126 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


distance, forms a singular contrast to this ancient city, and 
competes in trade with it vigorously. 

It was at Gwalior that the Ranee of Jansi, the devoted 
friend of Nana Sahib, defended herself heroically to the 
last. There, as we have already said, she fell by the hand 
of Colonel Munro during an engagement with two squadrons 
of the British troops, where he was in command of a 
battalion of his regiment, and from that moment dated the 
mortal hatred borne towards him by the Nabob, who sought 
till death to gratify it by revenge. 

Yes ! it certainly was desirable that Sir Edward Munro 
should not renew his recollections of the scenes which took 
place before the gates of Gwalior ! 

; After Gwalior we passed Antri, and its vast plain broken 
by numerous peaks, like islands in an archipelago. 

Then Duttiah, which has not been in existence for more 
than five centuries. It possesses a central fortress, elegant 
houses, temples of various forms, the deserted palace of 
Birsing-Deo, and the arsenal of Tope-Kana, the whole 
forming the capital of the province of Duttiah, which lies 
in the northern angle of Bundelkund, and is under British 
protection. Antri and Duttiah, as well as Gwalior, were 
s eriously compromised by the insurrectional disturbances 
of 1857. 

On the 22nd of September, Jansi was passed at a con- 
siderable distance. This city is the most important mili- 


PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


127 


tary station in the Bundelkund, and the spirit of revolt is 
strong in the lower classes of its population. The town is 
comparatively modern, and has a great trade in Indian 
muslins, and blue cotton cloths. There are no ancient 
remains in this place, but it is interesting to visit its cita- 
del, whose walls the English artillery and projectiles failed 
to destroy, also the Necropolis of the rajahs, which is 
remarkably picturesque. 

This was the chief stronghold of the sepoy mutineers 
in Central India. There the intrepid Ranee instigated 
the first rising, which speedily spread throughout the 
Bundelkund. 

There Sir Hugh Rose maintained an engagement which 
lasted no less than six days, during which time he lost 
fifteen per cent, of his force. 

There, in spite of the obstinate resistance of a garrison 
of twelve thousand sepoys, and backed by an army of 
twenty thousand, Tantia Topi, Balao Rao (brother of the 
Nana), and last not least, the Ranee herself, were com- 
pelled to yield to the superiority of British arms. 

It was there, at Jansi, that Colonel Munro had saved 
the life of his sergeant, McNeil, and given up to him his 
last drop of water. Yes! Jansi of all places must be 
avoided in a journey where the route was planned and 
marked out by Sir Edward’s warmest friends ! 

After passing Jansi, we were detained for several hours 


128 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


by an encounter with travellers of whom Kalagani had 
previously spoken. 

It was about eleven o’clock. Breakfast was over, and 
we were lounging under the verandah, or in the saloon, 
while Behemoth plodded steadily on at a moderate speed . 
The road was magnificent. Shaded by lofty trees it 
passed through fields of cotton and grain. The weather 
was fine, the sun very hot. All we could wish for was a 
metropolitan water-cart, to keep down the puffs of fine 
white dust which occasionally rose round our equipage. 

But after a while the atmosphere appeared to become 
absolutely darkened with clouds of dust as dense as any 
ever blown up by the simoom of the Libyan Desert. 

“ I cannot imagine the cause of such a phenomenon,” 
said Banks, ‘‘for the wind blows quite a light breeze.” 

“Probably Kalagani can explain it,” said Colonel 
Munro. 

He was called, and entering the verandah, looked along 
the road, and at once said, — 

“It is a long caravan going northward, and is most 
likely a party of the Brinjarees I spoke of to you, Mr. 
Banks.” 

“Ah! and no doubt you will find some old friends 
among them.” 

“ Possibly, sahib ; I lived a long time among those wan- 
dering tribes. 







































Caravan of 


Brinjarees on the march. 


Page 129 






PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


129 


“ Perhaps you will want to leave us and join them again/’ 
remarked Captain Hood. 

“Not at all,” answered Kalagani. 

Half an hour later, it was proved that his opinion was 
correct. A moving wall of oxen advanced, and our 
mighty elephant himself was brought to a standstill. There 
was nothing to regret in this enforced halt, however, 
for a most curious spectacle was presented to our observa- 
tions. 

A drove of four or five thousand oxen encumbered the 
road, and, as our guide had supposed, they belonged to a 
caravan of Brinjarees. 

“ These people,” said Banks, “ are the Zingaris of Hin- 
dostan. They are a people rather than a tribe, and 
have no fixed abode, dwelling under tents in summer, in 
huts during the winter or rainy season. They are the 
porters and carriers of India, and I saw how they worked 
during the insurrection of 1857. By a sort of tacit 
agreement between the belligerents, their convoys were 
permitted to pass through the disturbed provinces. In 
fact, they kept up the supply of provisions to both armies. 
If these Brinjarees belong to one part of India more than 
to another, I should say it was Rajpootana, and perhaps 
more particularly the kingdom of Mil war. Pray examine 
them attentively, my dear Maucler, as they pass before 
you in defile.” 


VOL. II. 


K 


130 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Our equipage was prudently drawn up on one side of 
the great highway. Nothing could have withstood this 
avalanche of horned cattle, even wild beasts hasten out of 
their way. 

Following Banks’ advice, I set myself to observe closely 
the enormous procession as it passed by, and the first thing 
I noticed was that our Steam Elephant, so accustomed 
to create surprise and admiration, seemed scarcely to at- 
tract the attention of these people at all ; they looked as 
if nothing ever could astonish them. 

Both men and women of the race were extremely hand- 
some ; the former tall and strong, with fine features, curly 
hair, and a clear bronze complexion. They wore long 
tunics and turbans, and carried lances, bucklers, or round 
shields, and large swords slung across their shoulders, the 
latter, also very tall and well formed, were dressed in be- 
coming bodices with full skirts, a loose mantle enveloping 
the whole form in graceful drapery. They wore jewels in 
their ears, and necklaces, bracelets, bangles, and anklets, 
made of gold, ivory, or shells. 

Thousands of. oxen paced quietly along with these men, 
women, old men, and children. They had neither harness 
nor halter, only bells or red tassels on their heads, and 
double packs thrown across their backs, which contained 
wheat and other grains. 

A whole tribe journeyed in this manner, under the direc- 


PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


I 31 

tions of an elected chief, called the “ naik,” whose power is 
despotic while it lasts. He controls the movements of 
the caravan, fixes the hours for the start and the halt, and 
arranges the dispositions of the camp. 

I was struck by the magnificent appearance of a large 
bull, who with superb and imperial step led the van. He 
was covered with a bright coloured cloth, ornamented with 
bells and shell embroidery, and I asked Banks if he knew 
what was the special office of this splendid animal. 

“ Kalagani will of course be able to tell us,” answered he. 
“ Where is the fellow ? ” 

He was called, but did not make his appearance, and 
search being made, it was found he had left Steam 
House. 

“No doubt he has gone to renew acquaintance with 
some old comrade,” said Colonel Munro. “ He will return 
before we resume our journey.” 

This seemed very natural. There was nothing in the 
temporary absence of the man to occasion uneasiness, but 
somehow it haunted me uncomfortably. 

“ Well,” said Banks, “ to the best of my belief this bull 
represents, or is an emblem of, their deity. Where he goes 
they follow ; where he stops, there they encamp ; but of 
course we are to suppose he is in reality under the secret 
control of the ‘ naik.’ Anyhow, he is to these wanderers an 
embodiment of their religion.” 


K 2 


132 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The cortege seemed interminable, and for two hours there 
was no sign of an approaching end. Soon afterwards, how- 
ever, the rear guard came in sight, and at last I perceived 
Kalagani accompanied by a native who was not of the 
Brinjaree type. They were conversing together very coolly, 
and he was no doubt one who, as Kalagani had frequently 
done, had joined the caravan for a time only. Probably 
they were talking of the country which the caravan had 
just passed through, and across which lay the route by 
which our new guide had undertaken to lead us. 

This man, who was the last of all the procession to pass 
us, paused for a moment before Steam House. 

He looked at the equipage with some interest, and I 
thought his eye rested particularly on Sir Edward Munro ; 
but without uttering a word, he made a parting sign to 
Kalagani, rejoined the troop, and disappeared in a cloud of 
.Bust 

Kalagani then came up, and before any questions were 
asked, addressed himself to Colonel Munro, and simply 
saying,— 

“ One of my old comrades, who has been with the caravan 
for the last two months,” he resumed his place in our train, 
and we were speedily moving along a road now deeply 
marked by the footprints of thousands of men and oxen. 

Next day, the 24th of September, we halted to pass the 
night a little to the east of Ourtcha on the left bank of 


PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


33 


the Bettwa, which is one of the chief tributaries of the 
Jumna. 

There is nothing to see or say about Ourtcha. It is the 
old capital of Bundelku-nd, and was a flourishing town 
during the earlier part of the seventeenth century. But hard 
blows from the Mahrattas on one side, and the Mongols on 
the other, reduced it to a low condition, from which it has 
never recovered, so that, at the present time, one of the 
great cities of Central India is nothing more than a large 
village, miserably housing a few hundred peasants. 

I said we encamped on the banks of the Bettwa, but the 
halt was made at some distance from the river, which, we 
learned, had considerably overflowed its banks. Night 
was coming on and it would be necessary next day to 
examine carefully the nature of the ground before attempt- 
ing a passage. We therefore spent our evening in the 
usual way and retired to rest. 

Except under very peculiar circumstances, we never kept 
watch by night. There seemed to be no occasion for 
it. Could anybody run away with our houses ? No ! 
Could they steal our elephant? Rather not! Nothing 
was more unlikely than an attack of thieves ; but at all 
times our two dogs, Fan and Niger, were on the alert, and 
ready to give notice of approaching footsteps. 

This very thing happened that night. Their violent 
barking aroused us about two in the morning. 


134 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


When I opened the door of my room, I found all my 
companions on foot. 

“Is anything the matter?” inquired Colonel Munro. 

“ The dogs seem to think so/’ replied Banks. “ I don’t 
believe they would bark like that for nothing.” 

“I should not wonder if a panther had coughed in the 
jungle,” said Hood. “ Let’s take our guns and make a 
search.” 

McNeil, Kalagani, and Goumi were all out listening and 
trying to find out what was going on. 

We joined them. 

“Well,” said the captain, “ I suppose a few wild animals 
have passed on their way to the drinking-place ? ” 

“ Kalagani thinks this is something very different,” re- 
plied Sergeant McNeil. 

“ What then, Kalagani ? ” 

“ I don’t know yet, colonel,” said the Indian ; but cer- 
tainly neither panthers, tigers, nor jackals. I fancy I can 
discern a confused mass among the trees — ” 

“ Let’s have at them at once ! ” exclaimed the captain, 
with eager hopes of his fiftieth tiger. 

“ Wait, Hood, wait,” said Banks ; “ caution is desirable in 
this case.” 

“ But we are in force, and well armed ! I want to be 
at the bottom of this disturbance,” persisted the captain. 

“ All right then,” cried Banks. “ Munro, you must re- 








a 


** Who ’•oes there ? ” 


Page 13.5 













PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


135 


main in camp with McNeil and the other men, while Hood, 
Maucler, Kalagani and I go to reconnoitre.” 

All this time the dogs continued to bark, but without 
any symptoms of the fury which they always displayed 
on the approach of wild beasts. 

“ Come along, Fox ! ” cried Captain Hood, beckoning to 
his servant. 

Fan and Niger darted into the thicket. We followed 
them, , and presently distinguished the sound of footsteps. 
It seemed as though the scouts of a large party were 
prowling round our camp. A few figures vanished 
silently among the bushes. 

The two dogs, barking loudly, ran backwards and for- 
wards some paces in advance of us. 

“Who goes there ?” shouted Captain Hood. 

No answer. 

“ These people either do not choose to speak or else 
understand no English,” said Banks. 

“ Well — give it them in Hindoostanee ! Tell them we 
will fire if they don’t answer.” 

In the dialect of Central India, Kalagani summoned 
the invisible rovers to advance and show themselves. 

Still no answer. 

A rifle shot broke the silence. The impetuous captain 
could stand it no longer, and had taken aim apparently 
at a shadow flitting through the trees. 


136 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The report was followed by a confused rushing sound, 
as if a multitude of people were dispersing right and left. 
Fan and Niger ran forwards, and then returnin g to us 
quietly, showed no further uneasiness. 

“Well, they beat a retreat double quick, these fellows, 
whoever they were/’ exclaimed Hood. 

“That is very certain,” returned Banks, “and now, 
whether they were robbers or rovers, all we have to do 
is to get back to Steam House. But we must set a watch 
till daybreak.” 

In a very few minutes we had rejoined our party. 
McNeil, Goumi, and Fox arranged to take turns as sentries, 
and we once more retired to our cabins. 

The night passed without disturbance ; it was clear, 
that seeing we were on our guard, the visitors had de- 
camped. 

Next day, the 25th of September, while preparation 
was being made for a start, Colonel Munro, Hood, 
McNeil, Kalagani and I set out to explore the borders of 
the forest. We saw no trace whatever of the nocturnal 
adventurers, and on our return found Banks busily ar- 
ranging for the passage of the river Bettwa, whose tawny 
waters were flowing far beyond their accustomed bed. 
The current was running at so rapid a rate, that Behemoth 
would have to make head against it to avoid being 
carried down stream. 


PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


137 


The engineer, field-glass in hand, was endeavouring to 
determine our landing-place on the opposite bank. 

The Bettwa was at this point about a mile in width. 
Our train had as yet crossed no river so broad. 

“What/’ said I, “becomes of travellers and traders 
when they are stopped by floods like this ? These currents 
resemble rapids ; ordinary ferry-boats could not resist 
them.-” 

“ Why ! it is quite simple,” replied Captain Hood, “ they 
stay where they are.” 

“ They can always cross if they have elephants/' said 
Banks. 

“ You don’t mean to say elephants can swim such 
distances ? ” 

“ Of course they can, and the thing is managed thus,” 
answered the engineer. “ All the baggage is placed on the 
backs of these — ” 

“ Proboscidians,” suggested Hood, recollecting his friend 
the Dutchman’s fine words. 

“ And the mahouts force them, at first reluctantly, to 
enter the stream. The animals hesitate, draw back, 
trumpet loudly ; but finally make up their minds to face 
the difficulty, and beginning to swim, gallantly effect the 
passage. It must be admitted that some are occasionally 
swept away by the current and drowned, but that rarely 
happens if any experienced person is in charge.” 


133 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ Well,” said Hood, “Behemoth is thoroughly amphibious, 
and no doubt will make a fine passage.” 

We all took our places ; Kalouth by his furnace, Storr 
in the houdah, Banks acting as steersman. With gentle 
pace the elephant began his march. His great feet were 
CQvered, but the water was for about fifty feet too shallow 
to float him. Great caution was requisite, and the train 
moved slowly from terra firma. 

All of a sudden we became aware that the sounds we 
had heard in the night were renewed and drawing near us. 
About a hundred creatures, gesticulating and grimacing, 
issued from the woods. 

“ Monkeys, by Jove ! ” exclaimed Hood, with a burst of 
laughter, as a whole regiment of apes advanced in close 
order towards Steam House. 

“What on earth do they want ? ” inquired McNeil. 

“ Of course they are going to attack us,” answered the 
belligerent qaptain. 

“No, you have nothing to fear,” said Kalagani, who was 
watching them. 

" Well, but what are they up to ? ” repeated McNeil. 

“ They only want to cross the river with us,” said the 
Indian. 

And Kalagani was right. These were not insolent 
gibbons, with long hairy arms and importunate manners, 
nor were they members of the aristocratic family which 



“ Monkeys, by Jove ! ” 

Page 138 . 






































* 





























































































































































































I 







PASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


139 


inhabit the palace at Benares ; but black monkeys, the 
largest in India, very active, and with white whiskers round 
their smooth faces, which make them look like old lawyers. 
In fantastic airs and attitudes they almost rivalled our 
friend Mathias van Guitt himself. 

I then learnt that these apes are sacred throughout India. 
One legend asserts that they are the descendants of Rama, 
who conquered the island of Ceylon. 

At Amber they occupy the Zenana palace, and do the 
honours to visitors. It is expressly forbidden to kill them, 
several English officers have lost their lives through dis- 
regard of this law. 

These monkeys are usually very gentle, and easily 
domesticated, but are dangerous if attacked, and when only 
slightly wounded, become, according to the statement of 
M. Louis Rousselet, quite as formidable as hyenas or 
panthers. But we had no intention of attacking them, and 
Captain Hood’s gun was not called into requisition. Could 
Kalagani be right in saying that these creatures, unable 
otherwise to cross the river, intended to avail themselves 
of our floating equipage ? 

We were speedily to see that it was so. 

When, after passing through the shallows, Behemoth 
reached the bed of the river, our train floated after him, 
and encountering a kind of eddy from a turn in the bank, 
remained at first almost stationary. 


. 140 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Just then the troop of monkeys approached, wading 
and dabbling in the shallow water. They made no 
demonstration of hostility ; but suddenly the whole party, 
males, females, old and young, began to gambol and spring 
towards us, and, finally seizing each other by the hand, 
they fairly bounded up on our train, which actually seemed 
to be waiting for them. 

In a few seconds there were a dozen on Behemoth’s 
back, thirty on the top of each carriage, and soon we had 
quite a hundred passengers, gay, familiar, even talkative 
(at least among themselves), no doubt congratulating one 
another on the fortunate chance by which they had secured 
their passage across the river. 

Behemoth now fairly entered the current, and boldly 
facing it, proceeded on his way. 

For an instant Banks looked anxiously at the apes, but 
they disposed themselves judiciously, so as to trim the 
flotilla. They sat or clung in all directions over the 
back of the elephant, on his neck, on his tusks, even on his 
upraised trunk, caring nothing for the jets of steam which 
it cast forth. 

They clustered on the arched roofs of our carriages, some 
squatting down, some standing upright, some on all fours, 
others dangling by the tail from the verandah roofs. 
Steam House maintained its equilibrium, and the excess 
of cargo proved to be quite immaterial. 





“ Take your seats, gentlemen !” 


Page 140 , 











































TASSAGE OF THE BETTWA. 


141 

Captain Hood was immensely amused, and his man 
Fox excessively astonished. He soon made friends with 
the free and easy creatures, who were grimacing on all 
sides of him, and began to do the honours of the house. 
He talked to them, shook hands, made his best bows, 
offered lumps of sugar, and would willingly have handed 
sweetmeats all round if Monsieur Parazard would have 
allowed it. 

Behemoth worked his four feet strenuously ; they beat 
the water, and acted like paddles. 

Drifting downwards in the current, he followed the 
direction which took us towards the landing-place. This 
we safely reached in about half an hour ; and the moment 
our train touched the shore, the whole troop of monkeys 
sprang down, and with numberless absurd antics and 
capers, scampered off as hard as they could go. 

“ They might as well have said ‘ Thank’ee ! * ” cried 
Fox, quite disgusted with the bad manners of his fellow- 
passengers. 


142 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

HOOD VERSUS BANKS. 

HAVING passed the Bettwa, we found ourselves already 
sixty-two miles from the station of Etawah, where we had 
left the Dutchman, Van Guitt. 

Four days passed without incident — without even any 
sport for Captain Hood, wild animals being scarce in that 
part of Scind. 

“ Upon my word,” he kept repeating in tones of great 
annoyance, “ I begin to fear I shall arrive at Bombay with- 
out having bagged my fiftieth ! ” 

Kalagani evidently knew this thinly-peopled region per- 
fectly, and guided us across it most admirably. On the 
29th September our train began to ascend the northern 
slope of the Vindyas, in order to reach the pass of 
Sirgour. 

Hitherto we had met with no obstacle or difficulty, 
although this country is one of the worst in repute of all 
India, because it is a favourite retreat of criminals. 


HOOD VERSUS BANKS. 


143 

Robbers haunt the highways, and it is here that the 
Dacoits carry on their double trade of thieves and 
poisoners. Great caution is desirable when travelling in 
this district. 

Steam House was now about to penetrate the very 
worst part of the Bundelkund, namely, the mountainous 
region of the Vindhyas. 

We were within about sixty miles of Jubbulpore, the 
nearest station on the railway between Bombay and 
Allahabad ; it was no great distance, but we could' not 
expect to get over the ground as quickly as we had done 
on the plains of Scind. Steep ascents, bad roads, rocky 
ground, sharp turnings, and narrow defiles. All these 
must be looked for, and would reduce the rate of our 
speed. It would be necessary to reconnoitre carefully our 
line of march, as well as the halting-places, and during both 
day and night keep a very sharp look-out. 

Kalagani was the first to urge these precautions. It was 
certainly wise to be prepared for every contingency ; pru- 
dence is always a virtue. 

Nevertheless, we had little to fear, being a numerous 
party, thoroughly armed, and, as it were, garrisoning two 
strong houses and a castle, which it was hardly likely 
marauders of any sort, Dacoits or even Thugs, supposing 
any still lurked in this wild part of the Bundelkund, would 
venture to assault. 


144 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The pass of Sirgour was attained with no great diffi- 
culty. In some places it was necessary to put on steam, 
when Behemoth instantly displayed power amply sufficient 
for the occasion. 

Kalagani appeared so well acquainted with the winding 
passes among which we found ourselves, that we ceased to 
feel anxiety as to the route we were on. He never showed 
the smallest hesitation, but led the way confidently among 
deep gorges, lofty precipices, and dense forests of pines and 
other alpine trees, even where cross-roads would have 
puzzled many guides. 

At times he stopped the train, and went forward to 
survey the road, but it was to ascertain its condition, which 
after the rainy season was often torn up by torrents, and 
retreat being difficult, it was awkward to come upon such 
chasms unawares. 

The weather was perfect. The rains were over, and the 
burning sky was veiled by light mists, which tempered the 
solar rays, so that the heat we experienced was temperate, 
very endurable for travellers so well sheltered as we were. 
It was easy for our sportsmen to shoot what game we 
needed for the table without going any great distance from 
Steam House. 

Captain Hood, however, and doubtless Fox also, 
regretted the absence of the wild beasts which abounded in 
the Terrai. But how could they hope to find lions, tigers, 




A noble pair. 


Page i45 








1I00D VERSUS BANKS. 


145 


and panthers, where there was nothing for them to 
eat ? 

If, however, there was a lack of carnivora, we found 
occasion to make better acquaintance with Indian 
elephants — I mean wild elephants, of whom hitherto we had 
seen but rare examples. 

It was about noon on the 30th September that we 
perceived a pair of these superb animals in front of our 
train. On our approach, they left the road to let us pass, 
as though alarmed by the novel appearance of our 
equipage. 

Even Captain Hood never thought of firing at the 
magnificent creatures unnecessarily. We all stood ad- 
miring them thus roaming at liberty their native wilds, 
where streams, torrents, and pastures afforded all they 
required. 

“ What a fine opportunity now for our friend Van Guitt 
to deliver a lecture on zoology ! ” cried the captain. 

Everybody knows that India is, par excellence , the 
country for elephants ; the species is rather smaller than 
the African elephant ; it abounds in the various provinces 
of the peninsula, and is sought after also in Burmah, Siam, 
in the territories East of the Bay of Bengal. 

They are usually captured by means of a “keddah,” 
which is an enclosure surrounded by palisades. Some- 
times it is intended to secure a whole herd at once, and 


VOL. II. 


L 


146 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


then the hunters assemble to the number of three or four 
hundred, under command of a “ jemidar,” that is, a native 
sergeant, or headman, and drive them gradually towards 
the “keddah.” 

This they are enticed to enter by the aid of tame 
elephants trained to the business ; they are then separated, 
and have their hind-legs shackled. The capture is then 
complete. But this method, besides being tedious, and 
troublesome, is generally unsuccessful with the large male 
elephants, who are bolder, and cunning enough to burst 
through the circle of beaters, thus escaping imprisonment 
in the keddah. The tame female elephants are appointed 
to follow these males for several days, the mahouts, 
wrapped in dark clothes, remain on their backs, and at last 
the unsuspecting elephants, when peacefully slumbering, 
are seized, chained, and led away captive before they 
recover from their first surprise. 

In former times, as I have already had occasion to men- 
tion, elephants were taken in deep pits dug near their 
haunts, but by falling into these, which were about fifteen 
feet deep, the animals were often hurt or even killed, and 
the barbarous practice is now almost given up. 

In Bengal and Nepaul, where the lasso is still in use, 
the chase becomes highly exciting and replete with ad- 
venture. Well-trained elephants are mounted by three 
men ; one, the mahout, rides on the neck, and directs the 


HOOD VERSUS BANKS. 


147 


animal’s movements ; another behind, whose duty it is to 
spur and goad him, while the hunter is seated on his back, 
armed with a lasso, the noose ready prepared to fling. 
Thus equipped, the pursuit may last for hours, over plains 
and through forests, the hunters running great danger in the 
chase, but at length the huge quarry is lassoed, falls heavily, 
and is at the mercy of his captors. 

By these different methods a vast number of elephants 
is annually caught in India. It is not a bad speculation. 
The price of a female elephant is sometimes 280/., of a 
male 800/., or even 2000/., if he is of noble race. 

But are the animals which cost such sums really so 
useful as to be worth it ? 

Yes, provided they are well fed. They must have six or 
seven hundred pounds’ weight of green fodder in every 
eighteen hours, that is about the amount allowed for 
average rations, and are then fit for active service ; for the 
transport of troops and military stores, transport of artil- 
lery arid waggons in mountainous countries, or through 
jungle impassable for horses ; also in many great works 
of civil engineering, and other undertakings, where they 
are employed as beasts of burden. 

These strong and docile giants are easily and quickly 
trained, seeming by instinct to be disposed to obedience ; 
they are universally employed in Hindostan, and as they 
do not multiply in captivity, it is necessary to keep up the 

L 2 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


148 

supply for the country and for exportation, by continually 
hunting those which roam the forests. Notwithstanding 
this the herds of wild elephants appear in no way diminished. 
Numbers are still to be found in the different kingdoms 
of India. 

Indeed, as far as we were concerned, far too many were 
at liberty, and this I shall presently show. 

The two elephants in advance of us drew aside as I 
described, so as to allow our train to pass by them, imme- 
diately afterwards resuming their march in the rear. 

Presently several other elephants came in sight, and 
quickening their pace, overtook and joined the pair we 
had just passed. In a quarter of an hour as many as a 
dozen were behind us. They were evidently watching our 
equipage, and followed us at a distance of fifty yards. 
They did not try to overtake us, still less did they show 
any intention of leaving our company. They might 
easily have done so, for an elephant’s pace can be much 
more rapid than at first sight one would suppose, and 
among the rugged steeps of the Vindhyas, Behemoth 
could travel but slowly. 

But their object evidently was to assemble in greater 
numbers. As they advanced they uttered peremptory 
calls, which appeared to be a summons to companions 
lingering behind, for cries, unmistakably in answer, sounded 
in the distance. 




« 








































A disagreeable escort. 


% 


Page 149 . 











HOOD VERSUS BANKS. 


149 


By one o’clock a troop of full thirty elephants followed 
us closely, and it was quite likely the number would 
increase. 

Herds of these animals, consisting of thirty individuals, 
and forming a family party more or less nearly related, 
are frequently seen together; at times a formidable as- 
semblage© f at least a hundred are encountered with no 
great pleasure by travellers. 

We all stood in the verandah behind our second 
carriage, and watched proceedings with some anxiety. 

“The numbers continue to increase,” remarked Banks. 
“ I suppose they mean to bring all the elephants in the 
district about us ? ” 

“ But,” said I, “ they cannot call to each other at any 
great distance.” 

“ No,” replied the engineer ; “ but they have a very acute 
sense of smell, and we know it, because tame elephants 
detect the presence of wild ones three or four miles off.” 

“ Why it is like a migration — an exodus ! ” said 
Colonel Munro. “We ought to increase our speed, 
Banks.” 

“Behemoth is doing his best, Munro. He has heavy 
work on this steep and rugged way.” 

“What’s the use of hurrying?” cried Hood, always de- 
lighted with fresh adventure. “ Let them come along with 
us, the jolly beasts ! They form an escort just suited to 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


ISO 

us ! The country, which seemed so desolate and deserted > 
is much more interesting now, and we go along with a 
retinue fit for a rajah ! ” 

“ We shall have to submit to their presence certainly,” 
said Banks. “ I don’t see how we are to prevent it.” 

“Why, what in the world are you afraid of? ” asked the 
captain. “You know very well that a herd is always less 
dangerous than a solitary elephant. These are good, quiet 
beasts ! Sheep, big sheep, with trunks — that’s all ! ” 

“ Hood’s enthusiasm is rising fast,” said Colonel Munro. 
“ I am willing to believe that if these animals remain in 
the rear and keep their distance, we have nothing to fear ; 
but if they take it into their heads to try to pass us on this 
narrow road, the consequences might be serious ! ” 

“ Besides,” I added, “ what sort of reception will they 
give Behemoth, if they find themselves face to face with 
him ? ” 

“ Oh, nonsense ! They will only salute him ! ” cried 
Hood. “ They will make grand salaams to him as Prince 
Gourou Singh’s elephants did ! ” 

“ But those were tame elephants, sir, and well trained,” 
remarked Sergeant McNeil very sensibly. 

“ Well, those fellows behind there will become tame too. 
Their astonishment at meeting our giant will produce the 
deepest respect.” 

Our friend’s admiration for the artificial elephant con- 


HOOD VERSUS BANKS. 


151 

tinued unabated ; that chef-d’oeuvre of mechanism, created 
by the hand of an English engineer. 

“Besides,” he continued, “ these animals are intelligent ; 
they reason, compare, and judge. They can associate 
ideas like human beings.” 

“ I question that,” said Banks. 

“ Question that, do you ? ” cried the captain. “ One 
would almost think you had never lived in India ! Are 
not these excellent fellows put to all manner of domestic 
service ? Have we any servant to equal them ? Is not 
the elephant always ready to be useful ? Don’t you know, 
Maucler, what accounts of him are given by the best in- 
formed authors ? According to them, the elephant is 
devoted to those he loves, carries their parcels, gathers 
flowers for them, goes out to shop in the bazaars, buys his 
own sugar-cane, bananas, and mangoes, and pays for them 
himself, guards the house from wild beasts, and takes the 
children out walking more carefully than the best nurse in 
all England. He is kind, grateful, has a prodigious memory ; 
and never forgets either a benefit or an injury. And then 
so tender-hearted ! Why, an elephant won’t hurt a fly, if he 
can help it ! Look here ! a friend of mine told me this 
himself. He saw a ladybird placed on a big stone, and 
the elephant was ordered to crush the little insect Not a 
bit of it ! The good beast would not put his foot on the 
creature ; neither commands nor blows could drive him to 


52 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


the cruel deed ! But directly he was told to lift it, he picked 
it up most tenderly with the delicate tip of his trunk, and 
let it fly away ! Now then, Banks, I hope you will admit 
that the elephant is good and generous, superior to every 
other animal in creation, even to the ape and the dog. 
Are not the natives in the right when they attribute to him 
almost human intelligence ? ” 

And the captain wound up his tirade by taking off his 
hat, and making a flourishing bow to the formidable army, 
which, with measured pace, came marching after us. 

“Well spoken, Hood ! ” exclaimed Colonel Munro, with 
a smile. “ Elephants have in you a very warm advocate.” 
“Don’t you think I am in the right, colonel ? ” 

“ Hood may possibly be right,” said Banks ; “ but I am 
disposed to agree with the opinion of Sanderson, a great 
hunter, and the best authority in such matters.” 

“Well; and what may this Sanderson say ?” cried the 
captain in a tone of contempt. 

“ He maintains that the elephant possesses no unusual 
amount of intelligence, and that his most wonderful per- 
formances are simpiy the result of absolute obedience to 
orders given more or less secretly by their drivers.” 

“ Oh ! indeed ! ” exclaimed Hood with some warmth. 

“ And he points to the fact,” continued Banks, “ that the 
Hindoos have never chosen the elephant to symbolize wis- 
dom ; but in their sculptures, and sacred carvings have 


HOOD VERSUS BANKS. 


153 


given in this respect the preference to the fox, the crow, 
and the ape.” 

“ Oh ! oh ! I protest ! ” cried the captain vehemently. 

te Protest as much as you like, but listen to me 
Sanderson adds that in the elephant the organ of obedi- 
ence is phrenologically developed to an extraordinary 
degree — any one may see the protuberance on his skull. 
Besides he lets himself be taken in traps which are per- 
fectly childish in their simplicity, such as holes covered 
over with sticks and branches, from which he never con- 
trives to escape. He is easily decoyed into enclosures 
which no other wild animal would go near. And if he 
escapes from captivity he is retaken with a facility which 
is very little credit to his good sense. Even experience 
does not teach him prudence.” 

“ Poor beggars ! ” interposed Hood in a comic tone, 
“what a character this engineer is giving you, to be 
sure ! ” 

“ I will add as my final argument,” continued Banks, 
“ that it is often extremely difficult to domesticate and 
train these creatures, especially while they are young, and 
when they belong to the weaker sex.” 

“ Why that only proves more than ever that they re- 
semble human beings ! ” exclaimed Hood joyfully. “ Isn’t 
it much easier to manage men than children and women ? ” 

“ My dear fellow, I do not see that either you or I, as 


i54 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


bachelors, can be competent to decide such a question as 
that.” 

“Ha! ha ! well answered ! ” 

“ In short,” added Banks, “ I do not think we ought to 
place too much reliance on the amiability of the elephant ; 
if anything were to excite a troop of them to fury, it would 
be impossible to resist them, and as for those who are at 
this moment escorting us to the south, I heartily wish that 
they had urgent business in the opposite direction ! ” 

“ While you and Hood have been disputing about them, 
my dear Banks, their number has increased to an alarming 
extent,” remarked Colonel Munro. 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


155 


CHAPTER IX. 

A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 

Sir Edward was not mistaken. A herd of from fifty to 
sixty elephants was now behind our train. They advanced 
in close ranks and were already so near to Steam House — 
within ten yards — that it was possible to survey them 
minutely. 

At their head marched one of the largest in the herd, 
although its height, measured from the shoulder, was cer- 
tainly not more than nine feet. As I remarked , before, the 
Asiatic elephant is smaller than the African, which is 
frequently twelve feet high, and its tusks are in proportion. 
In the island of Ceylon a certain number of animals are 
found deprived of these appendages, but “ mucknas,” which 
is the name given them, are rare on the mainland of India. 

Behind the first elephant came several females, who in 
general are the leaders, while the males remain in the 
rear. Apparently on this occasion the usual order was 
changed, because of our presence on the line of march. 


156 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


The males in fact have nothing to do with the guidance 
of the herd. They have not the charge of their young 
ones ; they cannot know when the babies ought to have a 
rest, nor can they tell what sort of camping-place is most 
fit for them. It is the females who, figuratively, “ carry the 
tusks ” of the household and direct the great migra- 
tions. 

It was really difficult to answer the question of why they 
were now on the move, whether it was to seek more abun- 
dant pasture or to escape the sting of certain venomous 
insects, or a mere fancy to follow our strange equipage, 
the country was open enough, and according to their usual 
custom when they are not in wooded regions, these ele- 
phants journey by daylight. Before long we should see 
whether they would stop at nightfall, as we should ourselves 
be obliged to do. 

“ Hood,” said I, “see how our rearguard has increased ! 
Do you still persist in thinking there is no danger ? ” 

“ Pooh ! ” said the captain. “ Why should those animals 
want to do us any harm ? They are not like tigers, are 
they, Fox ? ” 

“ Nor even panthers ! ” was the answer of the servant, 
who always chimed in with his master’s ideas. 

But at this reply I perceived Kalagani shake his head 
disapprovingly. He evidently did not share in the perfect 
equanimity of the two hunters. 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


157 


“You seem to be uneasy, Kalagani,” said Banks, looking 
at him. 

“ Cannot the speed of the train be increased ? ” was the 
man’s only reply. 

“ It will be rather difficult,” returned the engineer, “ but 
we will try.” 

So saying, Banks left the verandah, and ascended to the 
howdah in which Storr was standing. Almost immediately 
the snorts of Behemoth increased, as well as the speed of 
the train. 

Very little, though, for the road was rough. But even if 
our rate had been redoubled, the state of things would 
have remained the same. The herd of elephants also 
advanced more rapidly, and the distance between them 
and Steam House did not diminish. 

Several hours passed thus without any important altera- 
tion taking place. After dinner we resumed our places on 
the verandah of the second carriage. 

The road now stretched away behind us for two miles or 
so in a straight line. Our view of it was no longer inter- 
cepted by sudden turnings. 

To our extreme uneasiness we perceived that the number 
of elephants had increased within the last hour! We 
now counted at least a hundred. 

The creatures marched in double or treble file, according 
to the width of the road, silently, at an even step, with 


158 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


their trunks in the air. It was like the advance of the tide 
flowing quietly in. All was calm now, to continue the 
metaphor, but if a tempest lashed into fury this moving 
mass, to what danger might we not be exposed ? 

In the meantime evening came on. There would be no 
moon, nor would the stars give any light, for a sort of fog 
or haze shrouded the heavens. 

As Banks said, it would be impossible to follow such a 
difficult road in the dark. He resolved, therefore, to halt 
as soon as the valley widened, or we met with some gorge 
into which we could go, and allow the alarming-looking 
herd to pass us, and continue their migration to the 
south. 

But would they do so ? Might they not halt in or near 
our encampment ? 

This was the great question. 

With nightfall came a sort of agitation among the 
elephants which we had not observed during the day. A 
sort of roar, powerful but dull, escaped from their mighty 
lungs. To this uproar succeeded another peculiar noise. 

“ What does that mean ? ” asked the colonel. 

“ That is the sound they make,” replied Kalagani, “when 
they are in presence of an enemy.” 

“ And it is we, it can only be we whom they consider 
as such,” said Banks. 

“ I fear so,” replied the native. 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


159 


The sound now resembled distant thunder. It recalled 
that which is produced in the side-scenes of a theatre by 
the vibration of sheets of iron. Rubbing the extremity of 
their trunks on the ground, the elephants sent forth pro- 
longed breaths with a deep and sullen roar. 

It was now nine in the evening. 

We had reached a sort of little plain, almost circular, 
and half a mile in width, from which debouched the 
road to the lake Puturia, near which Kalagani had pro- 
posed our halting. But this lake being still ten miles off, 
it was hopeless to think of reaching it that night. 

Banks now gave the signal to stop. Behemoth became 
stationary, but he was not unharnessed. The fires were 
not even raked out. Storr received orders to keep up the 
pressure so that the train might move on again at a 
moment’s notice. We were thus ready for any emergency. 

Colonel Munro retired to his room. Banks and Hood 
did not care to go to bed, and I preferred sitting up 
with them. All our servants were also afoot. But what 
could we possibly do, if the elephants took it into their 
heads to attack Steam House, 

For the first hour a dull murmur continued around our 
encampment. The herd was evidently spreading over 
the little plain. Were they merely crossing it, and pur- 
suing their way southwards ? 

“ That’s possible, after all,” said Banks. 


i6o 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“It is even more than probable,” added Captain Hood, 
whose optimism was never at fault. 

Towards eleven o'clock the sounds began to diminish t 
and at ten minutes past it had totally ceased. 

It was a perfectly calm night, so that the slightest noise 
would have reached our ears. Nothing was to be heard 
but the panting of Behemoth, and nothing was to be 
seen but the sparks which flew occasionally from his 
trunk. 

“ Well ! ” remarked Hood, “ wasn’t I right ? Those 
fine fellows have taken their departure.” 

“And a pleasant journey to them,” I rejoined. 

“ I am not at all sure they are gone,” said Banks, shak- 
ing his head. “ But we must find out.” 

Then calling to the engine-driver, — 

“ Storr,” he said, “ the signal lamps.” 

“ Ay, ay, sir ! ” 

In twenty seconds’ time the two electric lights blazed 
from Behemoth’s eyes, and by automatic mechanism were 
directed in turn to every point of the horizon. 

There lay the elephants in a great circle round Steam 
House motionless, perhaps asleep. The brilliant light 
turned upon their dark bodies seemed to animate them 
with supernatural life. By a natural optical illusion the 
monsters assumed gigantic proportions, rivalling our Behe- 
moth. Aroused by the glare they started as if touched by 



Aroused by the glare 


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A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


161 


a fiery sting.- Trunks were raised and tusks pointed as if 
the creatures were making ready for a rush at the train. 
Roars issued from each vast throat. This sudden fury 
communicated itself to all, and round our encampment 
soon arose a deafening concert as if a hundred clarions 
at once were sounding a startling call. 

“ Out with the light ! ” called Banks. 

The electric current was suddenly interrupted, and as 
suddenly the commotion ceased. 

“ They are there, you see, camped in a circle,” said the 
engineer ; “ and there they will still be at daybreak.” 

“ Hum ! ” observed Captain Hood, whose confidence 
appeared to be somewhat shaken. 

What was to be done next ? Kalagani was consulted. 
He did not attempt to conceal the anxiety he felt. 

Could we leave the encampment under cover of the 
darkness ? That was impossible. Besides, what use would 
it be ? The herd of elephants would certainly follow us, and 
the difficulties of the road would be far greater than by 
day. 

It was therefore agreed that the departure should not be 
attempted until dawn. We would then proceed with all 
possible prudence and celerity, but without startling or 
offending our formidable retinue. 

“ And suppose these animals persist in escorting us ? ” I 
asked. 


VOL. II. 


M 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


162 


“We will endeavour to reach some spot where Steam 
House can be put out of their reach/’ answered Banks. 

“ Shall we find such a spot, before we get beyond the 
Vindhyas ? ” asked the captain. 

“ There is one/’ said the Hindoo. 

“What is it ?” demanded Banks. 

“ Lake Puturia.” 

“ At what distance is it ? ” 

“About nine miles.” 

“ But elephants swim/’ replied Banks, “ perhaps better 
than any other quadruped. They have been seen to keep 
themselves on the surface of the water for more than half 
a day ! Now, is it not to be feared that they might follow 
us into Lake Puturia, and thus the situation of Steam 
House be made still more serious ?” 

“ I cannot see any other way of escaping their attack ! ” 
said the native. - 

“ Then we will try it ! ” said the engineer. 

It was indeed the only thing to be done. The elephants 
might perhaps not venture to swim after us, and if they 
did, we might outstrip them. 

We waited impatiently for day, which was not long in 
appearing. No hostile demonstration was made during 
the night, but at sunrise not an elephant had stirred, and 
Steam House was surrounded on all sides. 

All at once a general move was made, as if the creatures 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


163 


were obeying a word of command. They shook their 
trunks, rubbed their tusks on the ground, made their toilet 
by squirting water all over their bodies, gathered several 
mouthfuls of the thick grass with which the ground 
was covered, and finally approached so near to Steam 
House that we could have touched them through the 
windows. 

Banks, however, expressly forbade us to provoke them. 
It was important that no pretext should be given for a 
sudden attack. 

In the meantime, several elephants pressed up close to 
Behemoth. They evidently wished to ascertain what the 
enormous animal, now standing so motionless, could be. 
Did they consider him as a relation ? Did they suspect 
that he was endowed with marvellous power ? 

On the day before they had had no opportunity for see- 
ing him at work, for their first ranks had always kept a 
certain distance from the rear of the train. 

But what would they do when they heard him snort and 
bellow, when his trunk ejected torrents of vapour, when 
they saw him raise and set down his great feet and begin 
to march, dragging the two great vans after him ? 

Colonel Munro, Captain Hood, Kalagani, and I took 
our places in the fore-part of the train. Sergeant McNeil 
and his companions were at the back. 

Kalouth, at the furnaces, kept up the supply of fuel, so 


M 2 


6 4 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


that the pressure of vapour had already reached five 
atmospheres. 

Banks was in the howdah with Storr, and kept his hand 
on the regulator. 

The moment for departure came. At a sign from 
Banks, the driver touched the spring, and an ear-piercing 
whistle resounded through the air. 

The elephants raised their heads, then drawing back a 
little, they left the way open for a few feet. 

A jet of vapour started from the trunk, the wheels of the 
machine were put in motion, Behemoth and the train 
advanced together. 

None of my companions will contradict me when I 
assert that there was at first a lively movement of surprise 
among the foremost animals. A wider passage opened, 
and the road appeared free enough to allow the train to 
proceed at a pace equal to a horse’s trot. 

But at the same moment all the “ proboscidian herd,” to 
use an expression of the captain’s, moved too, both in front 
and rear. The first took the lead of the procession, the 
rest followed the train. All seemed quite determined not 
to abandon it. 

At the same time, as the road was here wider, others 
walked at the sides, like horsemen accompanying a carriage. 
Male and female mingled, of all sizes, of all ages, adults of 
five and twenty years, and “grown men” of sixty, old 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


165 


fellows of more than a hundred, and little ones who had 
not yet left their mother’s side, but sucking with their lips 
and not with their trunks — as is sometimes supposed — got 
their breakfasts as they trotted along. 

The entire troop kept a' certain order, not hurrying, but 
regulating their pace to that of Behemoth. 

“If they escort us like this to the lake,” said Colonel 
Munro, “I shall make no objection.” 

“Yes,” replied Kalagani, “but what will happen when 
the road narrows ? ” 

In this lay the danger. 

No incident occurred during the three hours which were 
employed in travelling eight out of the ten miles to Lake 
Puturia. Two or three times only a few elephants stood 
across the road, as if it was their intention to bar it ; but 
Behemoth pointed his tusks straight at them, sputtered 
out smoke in their faces, advancing all the time, so that 
they thought better of it, and started out of his way. 

At ten o’clock two miles only lay between us and the 
lake. There— at least, so we hoped— we should be in 
comparative safety. 

Of course, if no hostile demonstration was made before 
we reached the lake, Banks intended to leave Puturia on 
the west without stopping there, so as to quit the region of 
the Vindhyas the next day. From thence to the station 
of Jubbulpore was but a few hours’ journey. 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


1 66 

I may here add that the country was not only very wild, 
but absolutely a desert. Not a village, not a farm — the 
insufficiency of pasture accounting for this — not a caravan, 
or even a solitary traveller. Since our entry into this 
mountainous part of Bundelkund, we had not met a single 
human being. 

About eleven o’clock the valley through which Steam 
House was passing, between two great spurs of the chain, 
began to narrow. 

The danger of our situation, already fraught with so 
much to cause uneasiness, was now aggravated. 

If the elephants had simply gone on in front or followed 
the train, the difficulty would not have occurred. But 
those marching alongside could not remain there. We 
should either crush them against the rocky sides of the 
road, or tumble them over the precipices which bordered it 
in some places. Instinctively they tried to get either 
forward or back, the consequence being that it was no 
longer possible either to advance or retreat. 

“This complicates matters,” remarked the colonel. 

“Yes,” said Banks ; “we are now under the necessity of 
breaking through the herd.” 

“ Well, break through, dash into them ! ” exclaimed 
Captain Hood. “By Jove! Behemoth’s iron tusks are 
worth much more than the ivory tusks of those idiotic 
brutes ! ” 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


167 


The “ proboscidians ” were now only “ idiotic brutes ” in 
the eyes of our lively and changeable captain. 

“No doubt,” said McNeil, “but we are one against a 
hundred.” 

“Forward, whatever happens!” cried Banks, “or the 
herd will trample us under foot ! ” 

Several puffs of steam now gave notice of more rapid 
movement on Behemoth’s part. His tusks ran into the 
elephant nearest him. 

A cry of pain burst from the animal, which was 
answered by the furious clamour of the whole herd. A 
struggle, the issue of which we could not foresee, Was 
imminent. 

We had our weapons already in our hands, the rifles 
loaded with explosive ball and the revolvers charged. We 
were thus prepared to repel any aggression. 

The first attack was made by a gigantic male, of fero- 
cious aspect, who, planting his hind feet firmly on the 
ground, turned against Behemoth. 

“ A ‘ gunesh ! 9 ” cried Kalagani. 

“ Pooh ! he has only one tusk ! ” replied Hood, shrug- 
ging his shoulders disdainfully. 

“ He is the more terrible ! ” answered the native. 

Kalagani had given to this elephant a name which 
hunters used to designate the males which have only one 
tusk. These are animals particularly reverenced by the 


1 68 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


natives, especially when it is the right tusk which is want- 
ing. Such was the case with this one, and, as Kalagani 
said, it was, like all its species, uncommonly fierce. 

This was soon proved. 

The gunesh uttered a trumpet-note of defiance, turned 
back his trunk, which elephants never use for fighting, 
and rushed against Behemoth. 

His tusk struck the iron side with such violence as to 
pierce through, but meeting with the thick armour of the 
inner plating, it broke against it. 

The whole train felt the shock. 

However, it continued to advance and drove back the 
gunesh, which boldly, but vainly, endeavoured to resist it. 

His call had been heard and understood. 

The whole mass of animals stopped, presenting an in- 
surmountable obstacle of living flesh. 

At the same moment the hinder troops, continuing 
their march, pressed violently against the verandah. How 
could we resist such a crushing force. 

Those which still remained at the side, raised their 
trunks, and twining them round the uprights of the carriages, 
shook them violently. 

It would not do to stop, or it would soon be all up with 
the train, but we had to defend ourselves. No hesitation 
was possible. Guns and rifles were instantly aimed at our 
assailants. 


Matters become serious. 




A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


169 


“ Don’t waste a single shot ! ” cried the captain. “ Aim 
at the root of the trunk, or the hollow below the eye. 
Those are the vital parts ! ” 

Captain Hood was obeyed. Several reports rang out, 
followed by yells of pain. 

Three or four elephants, hit in a vital spot, had fallen 
behind us and at the side — a fortunate circumstance, 
since their corpses did not obstruct our road. Those in 
front drew to one side, and the train continued its 
advance. 

“ Reload and wait ! ” cried Hood. 

If what he ordered us to wait for was the attack of the 
entire herd, there was no long delay. It was made with 
such violence that we almost gave ourselves up for lost. 

A perfect chorus of hoarse and furious trumpeting sud- 
denly burst forth. One might have supposed them to be 
an army of those fighting elephants, which, when possessed 
by the excitement called “ must,” are treated by the 
natives so as to increase their rage. 

Nothing can be more terrible, and the boldest “ eiephan- 
tador,” trained in Guicowar for the express purpose of 
fighting these formidable animals, would certainly have 
quailed before the assailants of Steam House. 

“ Forward ! ” cried Banks. 

“ Fire ! ” shouted Hood. 

And with the snorts and shrieks of the engine were 


170 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


mingled the crack of our rifles. It was next to impossible 
to aim carefully, as the captain had advised, in such 
confusion. Every ball found a mark in the mass of flesh, 
but few hit a mortal part. The wounded animals, there- 
fore, redoubled their fury, and to our shots they answered 
with blows of their tusks, which seriously damaged the 
walls. 

To the reports of the guns, discharged both in front 
and rear of the train, and the bursting of the explosive 
balls in the bodies of the animals, was joined the hissing 
and whistling of the steam. Pressure rapidly increased. 

Behemoth dashed into the bellowing crowd, dividing 
and repelling it. At the same time, his movable trunk, 
rising and falling like a formidable club, dealt repeated 
blows on the quivering bodies which he pierced with his 
tusks. 

Thus we advanced along the narrow road. 

Sometimes the wheels seemed about to stick fast, but 
on we struggled, till we were within a short distance of the 
lake. 

“ Hurrah ! ” shouted Captain Hood, like a soldier who 
is about to dash into the thick of the fight. 

“ Hurrah ! hurrah ! ” we echoed. 

All at once I caught sight of a huge trunk darting 
across the front verandah. In another minute Colonel 
Munro would be seized by this living lasso and be dashed 







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A party of elephants were crushing the second carriage, against the rocks! 

Page 17 1 . 



A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


I/I 

under the monster’s feet. Just in time, however, Kalagani 
bounded forward and severed the trunk by a vigorous 
blow from a hatchet. 

After this, while all were taking part in the common 
defence, the Hindoo never lost sight of Sir Edward. In 
his unfailing devotion and exposure of his own person to 
shield the colonel, he showed how sincere was his desire to 
protect him. 

Behemoth’s power and strength of endurance were now 
put to the proof. How he worked his way, like a wedge, 
penetrating through the mass ! And as at the same time 
the hindermost elephants butted at us with their heads the 
train advanced, not only without stopping, although with 
many a jolt and shock, but even faster than we could have 
hoped. 

All at once a fresh noise arose amid the general din 
and clamour. 

A party of elephants were crushing the second carriage 
against the rocks ! 

“Join us! join us!” shouted Banks to those of our 
friends who were defending the back of Steam House. 

Already Fox, Goumi, and the sergeant had darted into 
our house. 

“ Where is Parazard ? ” asked Captain Hood. 

“ He won’t leave his kitchen,” answered Fox. 

“ He must come ! — haul him along ! ” 


172 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Doubtless our cook considered it a point of honour not 
to leave the post which had been confided to him. But to 
attempt to resist Goumi’s powerful arms, when those arms 
had once grasped him, would have been of as much use as 
to endeavour to escape from the jaws of a crocodile. 

Monsieur Parazard was soon deposited in the drawing- 
room. 

“ Are you all there ? ” cried Banks. 

“Yes, sahib,” returned Goumi. 

“ Cut through the connecting bar ! ” 

“ What, and leave half of our train behind ! ” cried Cap- 
tain Hood. 

" It must be done ! ” answered Banks. 

The bar was cut through, the gangway hacked to pieces, 
and our second carriage was detached. 

Not too soon ! The carriage was crushed, heaved up, 
capsized, the elephants ending by pounding it beneath 
their feet. Nothing but a shapeless ruin was left, obstruct- 
ing the road. 

“ Hum ! ” uttered Hood in a tone which would have 
made us laugh had the occasion allowed of it, “ and those 
animals wouldn’t crush a ladybird ! ” 

If the maddened elephants treated the first carriage as 
they had treated the last, we now knew the fate which 
awaited us. 

“ Pile up the fires, Kalouth ! ” called the engineer. 


A HUNDRED AGAINST ONE. 


173 


A few more yards — a last effort, and Lake Puturia might 
be reached. 

Storr opened wide the regulator, thus showing Behemoth 
what was expected of him. He made a regular break 
through the rampart of elephants, and not contenting him- 
self with merely thrusting them with his tusks, he squirted 
at them jets of burning steam, as he had done to the pil- 
grims of the Phalgou, scalded them with boiling water ! It 
was magnificent ! 

The lake lay before us. 

Ten minutes would put us in comparative safety. 

The elephants no doubt knew this — which was a proof 
in favour of the intelligence Captain Hood had argued for. 
For the last time they bent all their efforts to capsize our 
train. 

Still we used our fire-arms. The balls fell on the animals 
like hail. Only five or six elephants now barred our 
passage. Many fell, and the wheels ground over earth red 
with blood. These last remaining brutes had now to be 
got out of our way. 

“ Again ! again ! ” shouted Banks to the driver. 

At this Behemoth roared as if his inside was a workshop 
full of spinning-jennies. Steam rushed through the valves 
under the pressure of eight atmospheres. To increase this 
would have burst the boiler, which already vibrated. 
Happily this was needless. 


174 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Behemoth’s power was now irresistible. We could 
actually feel him bounding forward with the throbbing of 
the piston. The remains of the train followed him, jolting 
over the legs of the elephants which covered the ground, 
at the risk of being overset. If such an accident had 
happened, Steam House and its inhabitants would most 
certainly have come to an untimely end. 

Mercifully this we were saved from ; the edge of the lake 
was safely reached, into it dashed our brave Behemoth, 
and the train floated on the surface of its tranquil waters ! 

“ Heaven be praised !” ejaculated the colonel. 

Two or three elephants, blind with fury, rushed after us 
into the lake, attempting to pursue on its surface those 
whom they had vainly endeavoured to annihilate on dry 
land. But Behemoth’s feet did their work well. 

The train drew gradually from the shore, and a few well 
directed shots soon freed us from the “ marine monsters,” 
just as their trunks were getting closer than was pleasant 
to our back verandah. 

“ Well, captain,” remarked Banks, “what do you think 
of the gentleness of Indian elephants ? ” 

“Pooh!” said Hood, “they aren’t worth being called 
wild beasts ! Just suppose thirty tigers or so in the place 
of those hundred pachydermata, and I wager my commis- 
sion that by this time not one of us would be alive to tell 
the tale ! ” 



The refuge is gained. 


Page 174. 







LAKE PUTURIA. 


175 


CHAPTER X. 

LAKE PUTURIA. 

LAKE PUTURIA, on which Steam House had found a tem- 
porary refuge, is situated twenty-five miles to the east of 
Dumoh. This town, the chief place in the English pro- 
vince to which it has given its name, is in a fair way of 
prosperity, and with its 1200 inhabitants reinforced by a 
small garrison, commands this dangerous portion of 
Bundelkund. Beyond its walls, however, especially to- 
wards the east, in the uncultivated region of the Vindhyas 
partly occupied by the lake, its influence can only slightly 
make itself felt 

But after all, what could happen to us worse than the 
adventure with the elephant 3 from which we had come out 
safe and sound ? 

Our situation was still, however, somewhat critical, since 
the greater part of our stores had disappeared with 
“ No. 2.” It was hopeless, even to think of patching up our 
ill-fated carriage. Turned over and crushed among the 


;6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


rocks, we knew that the mass of elephants must have 
passed over its remains, and that only shapeless debris 
could be left. 

And yet, besides being the lodging of our attendants, 
that house contained not only the kitchen and pantry, but 
our store of provisions and ammunition. Of the latter we 
now had but a dozen cartridges ; it was not probable, how- 
ever, that we should wish to use fire-arms before our arrival 
at Jubbulpore. As to food, that was another question, 
and one more difficult to answer. 

We had indeed nothing to eat of any description. 

Even supposing that we reached the town, forty-three 
miles distant, by the next evening, we must resign our- 
selves to passing four-and-twenty hours without food. 

There was no help for it ! 

Under these circumstances the most melancholy among 
us was naturally Monsieur Parazard. The loss of his 
pantry, the destruction of his apparatus, the scattering of 
his stores, had pierced him to the heart. He could not 
conceal his despair, and forgetful of the dangers through 
which we had been so miraculously preserved, regarded 
the disaster as an entirely personal misfortune. Whilst 
we were all assembled in the saloon, discussing what was 
best to be done, Monsieur Parazard, with a most solemn 
face, appeared at the door, and begged to “ make a com- 
munication of ' the utmost importance.” 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


177 


“ Speak, Monsieur Parazard/’ replied Colonel Munro, 
signing to him to enter. 

“ Gentlemen,” gravely said our dismal cook, “ you can- 
not but know that all the stores contained in the second 
carriage of Steam House have been destroyed in the late 
catastrophe ! Had a few provisions remained, I should 
have had some difficulty in preparing you even the most 
modest repast without a kitchen.” 

“ We know it, Monsieur Parazard,” answered the colonel. 
“ It is to be regretted, but if we are compelled to fast, we 
must fast, and make the best of it.” 

“ It is the more to be regretted indeed, gentlemen,” re- 
sumed our cook, “when we are actually within sight of 
the herd of elephants which assailed us, of which more 
than one fell under your murderous fire — ” 

“That’s a fine sentence, Monsieur Parazard,” interrupted 
Captain Hood. “With a few lessons you would soon 
learn to express yourself with as much elegance as our 
friend Mathias van Guitt.” 

At this compliment Monsieur Parazard bowed, taking it 
all seriously, then with a sigh continued, — 

“ I say then, gentlemen, that a unique occasion for dis- 
tinguishing myself in my business has offered itself. The 
flesh of the elephant, as may be supposed, is not all good, 
most of the parts being unquestionably hard and tough ; 
but it appears that the Author of all Things has placed 

N 


VOL. II. 


73 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


in the huge mass of flesh two choice morsels, worthy to 
be served at the table of the Viceroy of India. I mean 
the tongue of the animal, which is extraordinarily savoury 
when it is prepared by a recipe which is exclusively my 
own, and also the feet of the pachyderm — ” 

“ Pachyderm ? — Very good, although proboscidian may 
be more elegant,” put in Hood, with an approving ges- 
ture. 

“ With the feet,” resumed Parazard, “ may be made one 
of the best soups known in the culinary art, of which I am 
the representative in Steam House.” 

“You make our mouths water, Monsieur Parazard,” 
answered Banks. “ Unfortunately on one account, and 
fortunately on another, the elephants have not followed us 
into the lake, and I fear much that we must renounce, for 
some time at least, any idea of foot soup or a tongue ragout 
made from this savoury but formidable animal.” 

“ Would it not be possible,” said the cook, “ to return to 
land and procure — ” 

“ Out of the question, Monsieur Parazard. However 
dainty and perfect your preparations would be, it would 
not do to run such a risk.” 

“ Well, gentlemen,” returned our cook, “ pray accept my 
expression of the great regret I feel on the subject of this 
deplorable adventure.” 

" Your regrets are well expressed, Monsieur Parazard,” 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


179 


replied Colonel Munro, “ and we give you credit for them. 
As to dinner and breakfast, don’t think about such a thing 
until we reach Jubbulpore.” 

“ I must then withdraw,” said Parazard, bowing without 
losing any of the gravity which was habitual to him. 

We could have laughed heartily at our cook’s speeches 
and appearance had we not been so occupied with other 
matters. 

In fact, another complication had arisen. Banks in- 
formed us that the thing most to be regretted was not the 
want of provisions, not the want of ammunition, but the 
lack of fuel. There was nothing wonderful in this, since 
for forty-eight hours it had not been possible to renew the 
supply of wood necessary for the feeding of the machine. 
The last of our store was thrown into the furnaces as we 
reached the lake. It would have been impossible to go 
on for another hour, so if we had not found a refuge then, 
the first carriage of Steam House would have shared the 
fate of the second. 

“Now,” added Banks, “we have nothing more to burn, 
pressure is becoming lower, it has already fallen to two 
atmospheres, and there is no means of raising it.” 

“ Is our situation really as serious as you seem to think, 
Banks ? ” asked the colonel. 

“ If we only wanted to get back to the shore from which 
we are now but a little distant, that would be practicable,” 


N 2 


o 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


said Banks. u A quarter of an hour would do it. But 
to return to a spot where doubtless the elephants are still 
collected, would be highly imprudent. No, we must, on 
the contrary, cross this lake, and seek a landing-place on 
its southern shore.” 

“ How wide may it be at this part ? ” asked Colonel 
Munro. 

“ Kalagani reckons it to be about seven or eight miles. 
Now, under present circumstances it would take several 
hours to cross, and as I say, in forty minutes the engine 
will cease working.” 

“ Well,” answered Sir Edward, “ to begin with, we must 
pass the night quietly on the lake. We are safe here. To- 
morrow we shall see what is to be done.” 

This was decidedly the best thing to be done. We were 
all in great need of rest. At our last halting-place in the 
middle of the circle of elephants, no one in Steam House 
had been able to sleep. But if that was a “ white night,” 
as we say in French, meaning sleepless night, this one 
was black, and much blacker than we liked. 

In fact, towards seven o’clock, a slight mist began to 
rise over the surface of the lake. There had been a great 
deal of fog the preceding night in the higher regions of the 
atmosphere, but owing to the difference of locality and 
evaporation of the water, it was here low. After a hot 
day there was confusion between the higher and lower 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


1 8 1 


layers of the air, and the lake soon began to disappear in 
a fog, slight at first, but every moment increasing in 
density. 

This, as Banks said, was a complication which we had 
to take into consideration. 

As we had foreseen, about half-past seven, the panting 
of Behemoth grew fainter, the throbbing of the piston 
became weaker, his feet at last ceased to beat the water, 
and the mighty beast and our single house floated peace- 
fully on the bosom of the] lake. We no longer moved ; 
there was no fuel, and no means of procuring any ! 

Under the circumstances, it was difficult to make out 
our situation exactly. During the short time the machine 
was working, we steered towards the south-eastern shore, 
there to seek a landing-place. 

Puturia being in form a long oval, it was possible that 
Steam House was not so very far from one or other of its 
banks. 

It is needless to say that the trumpetings of the 
elephants, which we had heard for quite an hour after 
leaving the shore, had now died away in the distance. 

Whilst talking of the different eventualities which might 
occur in this new situation, Banks summoned Kalagani to 
share in our consultation. 

The native soon appeared, and was invited to give his 
opinion. 


1 82 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


We were all assembled in the dining-room, which had a 
skylight but no side windows. The light from the lamps 
could not, therefore, be seen outside. 

This was a wise precaution, it being just as well that the 
situation of Steam House should not be known by any 
prowlers who might happen to be on the shore. 

In answering the questions put to him, Kalagani- — at 
least, so it appeared to me — hesitated somewhat. We 
wished to know the position which the train now occupied, 
and that, I confess, was rather embarrassing to answer ; 
perhaps a slight breeze from the north-west had had an 
effect upon Steam House, or perhaps a current was insen- 
sibly drifting us to the lower point of the lake. 

“ Look here, Kalagani,” said Banks, “ do you know the 
exact extent of the Puturia ? ” 

“ Doubtless, sahib,” replied the man, “ but in such a fog 
it is difficult—” 

“ Can you 'make a rough guess at the distance which 
we now are from the nearest bank ? ” 

“Yes,” answered the native, after some thought. “The 
distance cannot be more than a mile and a half.” 

“To the east ? ” asked Banks. 

“To the east.” 

“So then, if we land there, we shall be nearer Jubbulpore 
than Dumoh ? ” 

“ Certainly.” 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


133 


“At Jubbulpore then we must refit/’ said Banks. “ But 
now who knows when or how we can reach the shore ? It 
may be a day or a couple of days before we can do so, and 
our provisions are exhausted ! ” 

“ But,” said Kalagani, “ could we not try, or at any rate 
one of us try, to land this very night ? ” 

“ How ? ” 

“ By swimming to shore.” 

“ A mile and a half in such a dense fog ? ” returned 
Banks. “ A man would risk his life — ” 

“That is no reason for not making the attempt,” 
replied Kalagani. 

. I cannot tell why, but again it appeared to me that the 
man’s voice had not its accustomed frankness. 

“Would you attempt this swim?” asked Colonel 
Munro, fixing his steady gaze on the countenance of the 
native. 

“Yes, colonel, and I have every reason to believe I 
should succeed.” 

“Well, my man,” resumed Banks, “in doing this you 
would render us a great service ! Once on shore you will 
easily reach J ubbulpore, and from that place send us the 
help we need.” 

“ I am ready to start at once ! ” was Kalagani’s quiet 
response. 

I expected Colonel Munro to thank our guide for having 


1 84 THE STEAM HOUSE. 

consented to perform such a perilous task ; but after giving 
him another long and attentive look, he summoned 
Goumi. The servant appeared. 

“Goumi,” said his master, “are you not an excellent 
swimmer ? ” 

“Yes, sahib.” 

“A mile and a half on a night like this, through the 
calm waters of the lake, would not be too much for you ? ” 

“ Not one mile nor even two.” 

“Well,” resumed the colonel, “here is Kalagani offering 
to swim across to the shore nearest to Jubbulpore. Now 
in the water, as well as on the land, in this part of Bundel- 
kund, two bold and intelligent men being able to assist each 
other, have a better chance of succeeding. Will you accom- 
pany Kalagani?” 

“ Directly, sahib,” answered Goumi. 

“ I do not need any one,” said Kalagani, “ but if 
Colonel Munro insists, I willingly accept Goumi as a com- 
panion.” 

“ Go then, my men,” said Banks, “ and be as prudent as 
you are brave ! ” 

This settled, Colonel Munro called Goumi aside, and 
gave him a few brief directions. Five minutes after, the 
two natives, each with a parcel of clothes on his head ? 
slipped over the side into the water. The fog being now 
very dense, a few strokes carried them out of sight. 



Quickly out of sight. 


Page 184. 



/ 



f 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


185 


I asked Colonel Munro why he had been so anxious to 
send a companion with Kalagani. 

“ My friends,” returned Sir Edward, “ that man’s replies, 
although till now I have never suspected his fidelity, did 
not appear frank to me ! ” 

“ The same thing struck me,” said I. 

“ I cannot say I noticed anything of the kind,” observed 
the engineer. 

“ Listen, Banks,” resumed the colonel. “ In offering to 
swim ashore, Kalagani had some ulterior motive.” 

“What?” 

“ I do not know, but though he wished to land, it was not 
to bring us help from Jubbulpore.” 

“ Hullo ! ” exclaimed Hood. 

Banks knit his brows as he looked at the colonel. 
• Then — 

“ Munro,” he said, u till now that native has been most 
devoted to us all, and more particularly to you ! And now 
you imagine that Kalagani would betray us! What pos- 
sible reason can you have for thinking such a thing ? ” 

“Whilst Kalagani was speaking,” answered Sir Edward, 
“ I noticed that his skin darkened, and when a copper- 
coloured complexion becomes darker, it means that the 
man is lying ! Scores of times, I have, by knowing this, 
been able to convict of falsehood both Hindoos and 
Bengalees, and have never been mistaken. I repeat, then, 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


1 86 

that Kalagani, notwithstanding all the presumptions in his 
favour, has not told the truth.” 

This observation of the colonel’s, which I have often since 
seen verified, was quite correct. When they lie, the natives 
of India turn a shade darker, just as white people turn red. 

This symptom had not escaped the colonel’s penetra- 
tion, and he had therefore acted upon it. 

“But what could Kalagani’s plans be,” questioned Banks, 
“ and why should he betray us ? ” 

“ That remains to be seen,” answered Colonel Munro. 
“ we shall know later, perhaps too late.” 

“ Too late, colonel ! ” cried the captain. “ Why what 
do you expect ? We aren’t going quite to destruction, I 
should hope ! ” 

“ At any rate, Munro,” said the engineer, “ you did very 
right in sending Goumi as well. That fellow would serve 
us till his last breath. Active, intelligent, as he is, if he 
suspects any danger, he will know — ” 

“ So much the more,” observed the colonel, “ that he has 
been warned beforehand, and mistrusts his companion.” 

“ Good,” said Banks. “ Now we can wait for day. The 
mist will doubtless disperse as the sun rises, and then we 
shall better know where we are.” 

The fog was dense, but nothing denoted the approach 
of bad weather. This was fortunate, for though our train 
could float, it w.as not built for a sea voyage ! 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


18 / 


Our attendants took up their abode for the night in the 
dining-room, we ourselves lying down on the sofas in the 
saloon, talking little, but listening to every sound from the 
outside. 

About two in the morning, a perfect concert of wild 
beasts suddenly broke the stillness. 

This showed the direction of the south-west shore, but it 
was evidently at some distance, from the sounds, and Banks 
guessed it to be a good mile from us. A band of wild animals 
had doubtless come to drink at the extreme point of the 
lake. 

Very soon we became sure that, urged by a slight breeze, 
our train was drifting in a slow but steady manner 
towards the shore. In fact, by degrees the sounds not 
only came more distinctly to our ears, but we could already 
distinguish the deep roar of the tiger from the hoarse howl 
of the panther. 

“By Jove!” Hood could not refrain from saying, 
“ what a splendid opportunity for potting my fiftieth ! ” 

“Another time for that, captain,” observed Banks. 
“When day breaks, I prefer to think that when we 
touch the shore that band of wild beasts will have left the 
place free for us ! ” 

“ Would it be at all dangerous,” I asked, “to light the 
electric lamps ? ” 

“ I do not think so,” replied Banks. “ That part of the 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


1 83 

shore is probably only occupied by those animals who have 
come to drink. There can be no danger in trying to get 
a look at them.” 

By Banks’ orders the brilliant light was thrown in a 
south-westerly direction. But powerless to pierce the thick 
mist, it only illuminated a short space before Steam House, 
and the shore remained totally invisible. 

However, the sounds becoming more and more clear 
showed that the train had not ceased to drift. The wild 
beasts were evidently very numerous, though there was 
nothing astonishing in this, since Lake Puturia is the natural 
watering-place for all the animals in that part of Bundel- 
kund. 

“ I only hope Goumi and Kalagani won’t fall into the 
clutches of those brutes,” observed Captain Hood. 

“ It is not tigers that I dread for Geuini,” responded 
the colonel. 

Colonel Munro’s suspicions had evidently increased, and 
for iny part I began to share them. Yet the good offices 
of Kalagani since our arrival in the Himalayan regions, 
his unquestionably useful services, his devotion on both 
occasions that he had risked his life for Sir Edward and 
Captain Hood, all told in his favour. But when the mind 
once allows a doubt to gain an entrance, the value of deeds 
performed grow less, their character changes, we forget the 
past and dread the future. 



Trying to get a look at them. 


Page 1 8 8 . 







LAKE PUTURIA. 


189 


And yet what motive could the man possibly have for 
betraying us ? Had he any reason for personal hatred 
against the inhabitants of Steam House ? Assuredly not. 
Why then should he lead them into an ambush ? It was 
most inexplicable. All felt quite bewildered on the sub- 
ject and longed impatiently for the denouement . 

About four o’clock the roaring of the wild beasts abruptly 
ceased. What struck us as curious in this was that they 
did not grow gradually distant and drop off, one after 
another, as each took a last bumper and roared a farewell 
to his fellows. No, this was instantaneous. It was just 
as if some chance disturbed them in their carouse and 
caused their flight. Evidently they returned to their dens 
and lairs, not like beasts going quietly homeward, but like 
beasts running away. 

Silence succeeded. The cause was not apparent to us 
now, but nevertheless it increased our anxiety. 

As a precautionary measure, Banks ordered the lamps 
to be extinguished. If the animals had fled on the ap- 
proach of a band of those highway rovers who frequent 
Bundelkund and the Vindhyas, it was most necessary 
carefully to conceal the situation of Steam House. 

The stillness was not even broken by the ripple of the 
water, for the breeze had fallen. Whether or not the train 
was continuing to drift in a current, it was impossible to 
know, but with the day we hoped the fog would disperse. 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


190 

I looked at my watch ; it was five o’clock. Without the 
mist there should have been light enough to allow us to 
see some miles round. But the veil was not lifted ; we were 
compelled to wait. 

Colonel Munro, McNeil, and I in front ; Fox, Kalouth, 
and Monsieur Parazard at the back ; Banks and Storr in 
the howdah ; and Captain Hood perched on the neck of 
the gigantic animal near the trunk, like a sailor on the 
topmast of a ship, all watched and waited for the first shout 
of “ Land ! ” 

Towards six o’clock a breeze sprang up which gradually 
freshened. The first rays of the sun pierced the fog ; it 
cleared, and the horizon lay before us. 

“ Land ! ” shouted Captain Hood. 

There to the south-east was the shore. It formed at 
the extremity of the lake a sort of narrow creek with a 
well-wooded background. The mist rose and left exposed 
to view the distant mountains. 

The train was now floating not more than 200 yards 
from the other end of the creek, and it was still drifting 
on under the influence of the north-west breeze. 

Nothing was to be seen on the shore. Not an animal 
nor a human being. It [seemed a perfect desert. We 
could not even perceive a cottage or farm under the 
trees. A landing might surely be effected here without 
danger. 



Land Appears. 


Page 190 , 














LAKE PUTURIA. 


191 

The wind sent us slowly onwards. We neared the 
shore. At last we touched ! 

A better place for landing could not have been chosen, 
for here the bank was low, sandy, and shelving. 

But now it was impossible to move another inch. 
Without steam we could not advance a step on the road 
which the compass told us must be the way to Jubbul- 
pore. 

Without losing a moment, therefore, we all followed 
Hood, who was, of course, the first to leap on to the 
beach. 

“ Fuel, fuel ! ” cried Banks. “ In an hour we shall be 
under pressure, and then forward ! ” 

This was easy work. The ground all around was 
strewn with dead wood, fortunately dry enough to be used 
at once. We had only to fill the furnaces and load the 
tender. 

All hands were soon hard at it. Kalouth alone remain- 
ing on the engine to receive and stow away what we col- 
lected. This was amply sufficient to take us to Jubbul- 
pore, and at that place we could take in a supply of coal. 
As to food, the want of which speedily made itself felt, 
why, the hunters belonging to the expedition were not 
forbidden to shoot any game they might come across ! 
Monsieur Parazard could borrow Kalouth’s fire, and we 
must satisfy our hunger as well as we could. 


192 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


In an hour’s time the steam had reached a sufficient 
pressure, Behemoth began to move, ascended the slope, 
and set foot on the road. 

“ Now for Jubbulpore ! ” cried Banks. 

But before Storr had time to give even a half-turn to the 
regulator, furious shouts burst from the neighbouring forest. 
A band of at least 150 natives rushed out, and made 
directly at Steam House. In a moment the howdah, the 
carriage, both front and rear were invaded. 

Before we knew where we were, we found ourselves 
seized, dragged fifty paces from our train, and held so 
firmly that it was impossible to free ourselves. 

Judge of our wrath and fury when we were compelled to 
behold the scene of destruction and pillage which ensued. 
The natives, hatchet in hand, fell to the work of devasta- 
tion and ruin. Of the interior furniture soon nothing was 
left! Then fire finished what the axe began, and in a 
few minutes all that could burn in our second carriage was 
in flames ! 

“ The blackguards ! the scoundrels ! ” yelled Captain 
Hood, struggling in the grasp of several natives. 

All abuse was ip vain, for the robbers could not even 
understand what was said. 

As to escaping from those who held us, it was not to be 
thought of. 

The flames died down, leaving only the bare skeleton of 




Colonel Munro seized. 


Page 193 . 








LAKE PUTURIA. 


193 


our travelling house, which had journeyed half over the 
peninsula. 

The natives next applied themselves to Behemoth, 
eager to destroy him also ! 

But here they were impotent. Neither axe nor fire 
could make the smallest impression on the thick iron skin 
of the creature, nor on the engine which he bore within. In 
spite of all their efforts, he remained unhurt, to the triumph 
of Captain Hood, who uttered shouts of mingled joy and 
rage. 

At this moment a man came forward. Evidently the 
chief of the band. 

The men immediately drew up in order before him. 

Another man accompanied him. All was explained, for 
in him we recognized our guide, Kalagani. 

Of Goumi there was not a trace. The faithful servant 
had disappeared, and the traitor only remained. No doubt 
the devotion of the brave man had cost him his life, and we 
should never see him again ! 

Kalagani advanced straight to Colonel Munro, and quite 
coolly, without the faintest sign of shame, pointed him 
out. 

“ This one ! ” said he. 

Instantly Colonel Munro was seized, and dragged away, 
soon disappearing in the midst of the band, who at once 
set off in a southerly direction, without allowing us to 


VOL. TI. 


O 


194 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


give him one grasp of the hand, or exchange a last 
farewell ! 

Hood, Banks, and the rest of us struggled in vain to free 
ourselves, and fly to our friend’s assistance. 

Fifty rough hands threw us to the ground. 

Another movement and we would have been strangled. 

“ Don’t resist ! It’s useless ! ” said Banks. 

The engineer was right. We could do absolutely nothing 
to save the colonel. It was better to reserve all our energies 
for another attempt. 

When a quarter of an hour had elapsed, the natives who 
detained us suddenly let go their hold, and darted off in 
the track of the first band. To follow them would have 
caused a catastrophe of no advantage to Sir Edward, and 
yet we would have done anything to be with him once 
more. 

“ Not another step,” said Banks. 

We obeyed. 

It was very evident that Colonel Munro, and he alone, 
was the object of this attack of the natives led by 
Kalagani. 

What were the intentions of the traitor ? He surely 
was not acting on his own account. Who then could he * 
be obeying ? The name of Nana Sahib came with ominous 
meaning into my mind ! 


LAKE PUTURIA. 


195 


Here ends the manuscript written by Maucler. The 
young Frenchman did not witness the events which 
occurred after this, and hastened the denouement of the 
drama, but on their becoming known later, they were put 
together in a narrative form, thus completing the account 
of this journey across Northern India. 


O 2 


196 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER XI. 

FACE TO FACE. 

The murderous “ Thugs,” from whom India appears now 
to be delivered, have left worthy successors behind them. 

These are the “ Dacoits,” who are really only Thugs, 
with a difference. These assassins have not the same 
object in view, and they carry it out in another way, but 
the result is identical : it is premeditated murder — assassina- 
tion. 

The Thugs devoted their victims to the ferocious Kali, 
goddess of Death, and effected murder by strangulation. 
The Dacoits practise poisoning for the purpose of robbery. 
They are more commonplace criminals than the fanatical 
Thugs, but quite as formidable: 

Certain territories of the peninsula are infested with 
bands of Dacoits, recruited ever and anon by such evil- 
doers as manage to slip through the fingers of Anglo-Indian 
justice. Day and night they haunt the highways of the wilder 
and more uncultivated regions, the Bundelkund, in par- 


FACE TO FACE. 


IQ7 


ticular, affording them favourable localities for their deeds 
of violence and pillage. At times the bandits unite in 
numbers to attack a lonely and defenceless village. 

The wretched population has no safety but in flight ; tor- 
ture awaits all who remain in the hands of the Dacoits. 
Their cruelties, according to M. Louis Rousselet, surpass 
all that imagination can conceive. 

Colonel Munro had fallen into the power of a band of 
Dacoits, conducted by Kalagani. 

Rudely torn from his companions, he found himself 
hurried along the road to Jubbulpore, before he had time 
to collect his thoughts. 

The conduct of Kalagani, from the day he joined our 
party, had been that of a traitor. He was the emissary of 
Nana Sahib : the instrument chosen by him to procure his 
revenge. 

It will be recollected that on the 24th of May, at Bhopal, 
during the festivals of the Moharum, which the Nabob had 
audaciously attended, he had become aware of Sir Edward 
Munro’s departure on a journey to the northern provinces 
of India. Kalagani, one of the followers most absolutely 
devoted to his cause and to his person, had then instantly 
quitted Bhopal. His orders were to throw himself on the 
track of the colonel ; to find and to follow him, and at all 
hazards to obtain confidential employment about the per- 
son of the enemy of Nana Sahib. 


9 8 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Without an hour’s delay, Kalagani had pushed north- 
wards. He overtook the Steam House train at Cawnpore, 
and from that moment never lost sight of it, but failed to find 
opportunity to do more. Therefore, when Colonel Munro 
and his party were installed in the sanatarium on the 
Himalayas, he determined to enter the service of Mathias 
van Guitt. 

Kalagani foresaw that almost daily intercourse would 
infallibly take place between the kraal and the sanatarium. 
He was right, and immediately succeeded, not only in 
attracting the notice of Colonel Munro, but in securing a 
claim upon his gratitude. 

The most difficult part of his mission was thus accom- 
plished. We know the sequel. The Indian often came to 
Steam House ; he became acquainted with our future plans, 
he heard what route Banks proposed to take when the 
journey was resumed. Thenceforth one single idea and 
design possessed him, that of securing the office of guide 
to the expedition. 

For the attainment of his purpose, Kalagani left no 
stone unturned. He risked his own life, and that of others, 
under what circumstances the reader will not have forgotten, 
but they demand explanation. 

He wished to disarm suspicion by accompanying the 
expedition at first starting without leaving the service of 
Van Guitt, hoping that something might afterwards lead 


FACE TO FACE. 


199 


to the very post being offered to him which it was his sole 
object to obtain. 

But the union of the two parties could not be effected, 
while the Dutchman had his full complement of draught 
oxen, or rather buffaloes. Deprived of them, he would be 
obliged to seek the aid of Behemoth. That the buffaloes 
might leave the enclosure and wander away during the 
night, Kalagani, at the risk of such disaster as actually oc- 
curred, withdrew the bolts, and left the gate open. Tigers, 
panthers, and what not, rushed into the kraal, the buffaloes 
were killed or dispersed, several natives lost their lives — 
what matter ? the plan had succeeded, and Mathias van 
Guitt was forced to entreat Colonel Munro to help his 
menagerie along the road to Bombay. 

He did not do this without an attempt to make up his 
teams, but this was naturally a matter of great difficulty in 
the desert regions of the Himalaya, and the business being 
entrusted to Kalagani, had not the slightest chance of 
success. The result was, that Mathias van Guitt, with his 
whole menagerie and personal goods, travelled in tow of 
Behemoth to Etawah Station. There, availing himself of 
the railway, Kalagani and the other shikarees became 
of no further use to him, and were consequently dis- 
missed. 

Banks, observing the embarrassment evinced by Kalagani, 
and well aware of his intelligence, and perfect acquaintance 


200 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


with this part of India, concluded that he would render 
important service as a guide, offered him the situation. It 
was accepted, and from that moment Kalagani held the 
fate of the expedition in his hands. 

Who could suspect treason in a man always ready to 
venture his life ? 

Once only was Kalagani on the point of betraying 
himself. 

It was when Banks spoke of the death of Nana Sahib. 
An incredulous gesture escaped him ; he shook his head 
like one who knows better than to believe what is stated. 
To us, however, it seemed only natural that he, in common 
with his race, should regard that fiendish man with super- 
stitious veneration, and believe he bore a charmed life. 

Kalagani may have had our news confirmed, when — cer- 
tainly not by accident — he met an old comrade in the 
caravan of the Brinjarees. Whatever he may then have 
heard, he in no way changed his tactics ; but led us on 
through the defiles of the Vindhyas, and finally, after the 
various adventures which have been related, to the banks 
of Lake Puturia, amid whose waters we were forced to take 
refuge. 

Then, under pretext that he would seek help at Jubbul- 
pore, the traitor proposed to leave us. Dissembler as he 
was, a peculiar change of countenance aroused Colonel 
Munro’s suspicions, and he ordered Goumi to accompany 


FACE TO FACE. 


201 


him. The two men plunged into the lake, and within the 
hour reached its south-western bank. 

They proceeded together through the darkness of the 
night, one full of suspicion, the other ignorant that he was 
suspected. Goumi, therefore, as faithful to his colonel as 
McNeil could be, had the advantage. 

During three hours they journeyed side by side along 
the road which leads across the southern slopes of the 
Vindhyas to the station of Jubbulpore. The fog became 
less dense, and Goumi closely surveyed his companion. 
A strong knife hung at his girdle. Goumi, rapid in all he 
did, was prepared to spring on his companion and disarm 
him on the slightest suspicious movement. 

Unfortunately the faithful fellow had no time to act as 
he intended. 

The night was pitchy dark, even a moving figure could 
not be discerned a few paces distant. 

Thus it happened that at a turning in the path, a voice 
suddenly called, “ Kalagani ! ” 

“ Here am I, Nassim,” replied the Hindoo. 

At the same instant a strange, shrill cry sounded to the 
left of the way, 

This sound was the “kisri” of the fierce tribes of the 
Gondwana, well known to Goumi. He was taken by sur- 
prise and attempted nothing. The cry was a summons to 
a whole band, and even had he struck down Kalagani, of 


202 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


what use would that have been ? Escape ! — he must escape 
— he must fly at once, and strive to rejoin his friends so as 
to warn them of their danger. Once more by the lake, he 
would endeavour to swim back to them, and prevent any 
attempt to reach the shore. 

Without an instant’s hesitation he moved aside, and, 
while Kalagani joined Nassim, who had spoken, sprang into 
the jungle and disappeared. 

Presently Kalagani turned back with his accomplice, 
intending to rid himself of the companion thrust upon him 
by Colonel Munro — but Goumi was gone ! 

Nassim was the chief of a band of Dacoits devoted to the 
cause of Nana Sahib. When he heard of Goumi and that 
he had fled, he dispersed his men on all sides in pursuit. 
It was important to secure at any price so brave an ad- 
herent of Sir Edward Munro. But search was useless. 
Goumi made good his escape ! 

What, after * had these Dacoits to fear from him ? He 
was thrown on his own resources in a wild and unknown 
country, already three hours’ march from Lake Puturia ; 
make what speed he might, he could not reach it before 
they did ! 

Kalagani took his measures. He conferred for a few 
moments with the chief of the Dacoits, who appeared to 
await his orders, and the whole band was speedily in hasty 
march towards the lake. 



Goumi sprang into the jungle. 

Page 202 . 








FACE TO FACE. 


203 


Now, by what means had this troop been summoned 
from the gorges of the Vindhyas ? How were they made 
aware of the approach of Colonel Munro to the neighbour- 
hood of Puturia ? By Nassim himself, who was none 
other than the Indian who followed the caravan of Brin- 
jarees ! 

In fact, everything that happened was the result of a well- 
laid plan, in which Colonel Munro and his companions 
merely acted the parts prepared for them. And thus, at 
the moment when the train touched the southern border of 
the lake, the Dacoits were ready to attack it, under com- 
mand of Nassim and Kalagani. 

It was their object to seize Colonel Munro alone. His 
companions, abandoned to their fate in this wild region, 
their last house destroyed, were powerless. He only there- 
fore was made prisoner, and hurried away, so that by 
seven o’clock in the morning Lake Puturia lay six miles 
behind them. 

Sir Edward at once concluded that his enemies, having 
secured him in this desolate place, would never let him 
leave the Vindhya region alive. Yet the brave man main- 
tained his calm and dignified aspect. He walked with the 
utmost coolness in the midst of his savage captors, ready 
for anything that might occur, and by no sign or look 
showing that he perceived Kalagani. Flight was, of course, 
impossible, for although unbound, he was so closely sur- 


204 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


rounded, that no gap in the crowd was available. Besides, 
instant recapture must have ensued. 

All the circumstances of the case passed in review before 
the colonel’s mind. Was it credible that this seizure was 
brought about by Nana Sahib ? Impossible ! Was not 
that terrible man dead ? Yet it might be that to some 
devoted follower — perhaps to Balao Rao — he had be- 
queathed the fulfilment of his long-cherished revenge. 
Thus only could Sir Edward account for his misfor- 
tune. 

Then he thought of poor Goumi. He was not apparently 
a prisoner of these Dacoits. Could he have escaped from 
them? It was possible. Had he not rather been slain at 
once ? That was much more likely. But supposing him 
to be safe and at liberty, might his assistance be reckoned 
upon ? It was hard to say. 

If he had pressed forward to demand help at Jubbulpore, 
he would arrive too late. 

If, on the other hand, he had gone to rejoin Banks and 
the rest at the lake, what could be done, destitute as they 
were of all stores and supplies ? They might endeavour 
to reach Jubbulpore, but long ere they could do so, the 
unhappy captive would be dragged into the inaccessible 
retreats of the robbers among the mountains ! 

The case appeared hopeless, as Colonel Munro carefully 
and deliberately examined its bearings. He would not 


FACE TO FACE. 


205 


despair, neither would he indulge in groundless visions of 
deliverance. 

The Dacoits marched with extreme rapidity. Nassim 
and Kalagani seemed anxious to reach, before sunset, an 
appointed rendezvous, where their prisoner’s fate would 
probably be decided. Colonel Munro was equally anxious 
to advance and end his suspense. 

Once only, for half-an-hour at 'mid-day, Kalagani called 
a halt. The Dacoits carried provisions, which were eaten 
by the margin of a little brook. A morsel of bread and 
dried meat was given to the colonel, who ate it readily, not 
wishing to refuse what was necessary to sustain his powers 
at this dreadful crisis. 

By this time they had travelled nearly sixteen miles. 
When Kalagani gave orders to resume the march, they 
still proceeded in the direction of Jubbulpore. 

It was not until five o’clock in the afternoon that the 
Dacoits abandoned the highway, and turned off to the left. 
Then indeed did Sir Edward Munro feel that he was 
beyond human help. God alone could save him now. 

In a short time Kalagani and his followers were passing 
through a narrow defile at the extreme limit of the valley 
of the Nerbudda, and approaching the wildest and most 
savage part of Bundelkund. 

The place is 216 miles from the Pal of Tandit, at the 
east end of the Sautpoora Mountains, which may be called 


20 6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


the western point of the Vindhyas, on one of the spurs of 
which stood the ancient fortress of Ripore, now long 
abandoned, because when the defiles were occupied by the 
enemy, even in small numbers, it was impossible to obtain 
supplies. 

This fort occupied a commanding position, which formed 
a kind of natural redan, 500 feet in height, and overhang- 
ing a wide gorge amidst adjacent precipices. The only 
access to it was by a narrow winding path, cut in the solid 
rock, and extremely difficult even for foot soldiers. 

Dismantled walls, ruined bastions, crowned the summit ; 
a stone parapet guarded the esplanade from the abyss 
beneath, and part remained of the building which had 
served as barracks for the little garrison of Ripore. 

One alone was left of all the guns which had formerly 
defended the fort. This was an enormous cannon, pointed 
from the front of the esplanade. Too heavy for removal, too 
much impaired to be of any value, it had been left there a 
prey to devouring rust. This piece of artillery, in size and 
length, was a match for the famous bronze cannon of 
Bhilsa ; which was cast in the time ofjehanghir, and is 
an enormous gun, six yards in length, with a calibre of 
forty- four. It might also bear comparison with the equally 
celebrated cannon of Bidjapoor, whose detonation, accord- 
ing to the natives, was enough to overthrow every building 
in the city. 



Page 206 . 


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FACE TO FACE. 


207 


Such was the hill-fort of Ripore, to which Kalagani led 
his prisoner. 

It was late when they reached it, after a fatiguing march 
of more than five-and -twenty miles. In whose presence 
was Colonel Munro about to find himself? He was soon 
to know. 

At the further end of the esplanade, a group of natives 
could be seen within the ruined barracks. They left it, 
and advanced, while along the opposite parapet the Dacoits 
ranged themselves in a half-circle, of which Colonel Munro 
occupied the centre. 

He stood, with folded arms, awaiting his fate. Kala- 
gani, quitting his place in the ranks, advanced a few paces 
to meet the party. 

A native,- simply dressed, walked in front. Before him 
Kalagani bent respectfully, and kissed his extended hand, 
receiving a sign of approbation for good service rendered. 

His leader then approached the prisoner ; deliberately, 
but with flaming eyes, and in every feature showing 
symptoms of rage, — intense, although restrained. 

He was like a wild beast drawing near his prey. 
Colonel Munro let him come ; he drew not back an inch, 
but regarded the man as fixedly as he was himself 
regarded. When but five paces apart, — 

“ ’Tis only Balao Rao,” said the colonel, in a tone of 
profound contempt. 


208 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“Look again !” returned the Hindoo. 

“ Nana Sahib ! ” cried Colonel Munro ; and now indeed 
he started back. “ Nana Sahib alive ! ” 

It was indeed the Nabob himself, the notorious leader 
of the sepoy revolt, the deadly enemy of Sir Edward 
Munro. 

Who then fell at the Pal of Tandit ? 

His brother, Balao Rao. 

The extraordinary resemblance of these two men, both 
marked with small-pox, both having lost the same finger 
of the same hand, had deceived the soldiers of Lucknow 
and Cawnpore ; they had not hesitated to express abso- 
lute certainty that that man was the Nabob, who in fact 
was his brother. The mistake was inevitable, and thus 
Government was informed of the death of Nana Sahib, 
while he yet lived, and Balao Rao was no more. 

He failed not to take advantage of this new aspect of 
affairs, by which almost absolute security was afforded him. 
No such indefatigable search would be made for his brother 
as for himself, because neither had he taken a leading 
part in the Cawnpore massacres, nor had he the pernicious 
influence possessed by the Nana over his country- 
men. 

Nana Sahib therefore resolved to maintain the idea of 
his death, and renounce for the present his insurrectionary 
schemes, devoting himself wholly to private revenge. 



‘ * Look again ! ” 


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FACE TO FACE. 


209 


Never had circumstances in this respect so favoured 
him. Colonel Munro had left Calcutta on a long journey, 
by which he meant to reach Bombay. 

Believing it possible to decoy him across the Bundelkund 
into the lonely region of the Vindhyas, Nana Sahib had 
previously put that mission into the hands of the crafty 
Kalagani. 

After the affair at the Pal of Tandit, he himself of course 
quitted what was no longer a safe retreat, and plunging into 
the Nerbudda valleys, concealed himself among the deep 
gorges of the Vindhyas. 

There, with a band of followers devoted to his person, he 
established himself in the deserted fort of Ripore, where he 
was soon reinforced by a party of Dacoits, worthy allies of 
such a chief, and month after month he waited. 

Four months he waited, until, having done his part, 
Kalagani should inform him of the near approach of his 
enemy. 

One fear possessed Nana Sahib. It was lest news of 
his death should reach the ears of Kalagani ; for if he had 
reason to believe it, would he not abandon his treacherous 
designs ? 

In order to prevent any such mistake, Nassim had been 
despatched to meet the Steam House train on the road 
from Scind, communicate with Kalagani, and acquaint him 
with the exact state of the case. 


VOL. 11. 


P 


210 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Immediately after doing so in the crowded caravan of 
the Brinjarees, Nassim hastened back to the Fort of Ripore, 
and gave him the latest intelligence of the progress of his 
victim. Kalagani was bringing him by short journeys 
towards the Vindhyas, and he was to be taken prisoner 
on the banks of Lake Puturia. 

All had succeeded to a wish. This time revenge was 
certain. 

And now ! Now Colonel Munro stood before Nana 
Sahib, disarmed, alone, at his mercy. 

After the first few words, these two men continued to 
gaze in silence one upon another. On a sudden the image 
of Lady Munro rose so vividly before his eyes, that the 
blood rushed from her husband’s heart to his head. He 
sprang at the murderer of the prisoners of Cawnpore ! 
Nana Sahib merely stepped back two paces, while several 
men flung themselves upon the colonel, whom they over- 
powered, though not without difficulty. 

Sir Edward Munro resumed his self-possession, which, 
no doubt, the Nabob perceived, for by a sign he made his 
men retire. 

Once more the foes stood face to face. 

At length the Nana spoke. 

“ Munro,” he said, “by your people a hundred and 
twenty prisoners were blown from the cannon’s mouth at 
Peshawur ; since then more than twelve hundred sepoys 


FACE TO FACE. 


2 1 1 


have perished by that frightful death. Your people ruth- 
lessly massacred the fugitives of Lahore ; after the siege of 
Delhi they slaughtered three princes and twenty-nine 
members of the royal family ; at Lucknow they slew six 
thousand of our race, and three thousand after the campaign 
of the Punjaub. In all, by cannon, musketry, by the gallows 
and the sword, a hundred and twenty thousand sepoys 
and two hundred thousand natives have paid with their lives 
for the rising in defence of national independence.” 

“ Death ! death ! ” cried the Dacoits and all the followers 
of Nana Sahib. 

He silenced them by a gesture, and waited for Colonel 
Munro to speak. The colonel gave no answer. 

“As for thee, Munro,” resumed the Nabob, “ my faithful 
friend the Ranee of Jansi was slain by thy hand. She is 
not yet avenged.” 

Still no reply. 

“ Four months ago,” said Nana Sahib, “ my brother 
Balao Rao fell under English balls aimed at me, and my 
brother is not yet avenged.” 

“ Death ! death ! ” 

This time these words were uttered more furiously, and 
the whole band made a movement as though to fall upon 
the prisoner. 

“Silence!” exclaimed the Nana. “Await the hour of 
justice ! ” 


r 2 


212 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


All drew back. 

“ Munro,” once more continued the Nabob, “ an ancestor 
of yours, one Hector Munro, first invented the punishment, 
of which fearful use was made during the war of 1857. 
He gave the first order to tie the living bodies of our 
people, our parents, our brothers to the cannon’s mouth — ” 

These words excited a fresh outburst of rage among his 
followers ; once more he calmed them, and said, — 

“ Munro, as they perished so shalt thou perish ! Behold 
this gun ! ” and turning round, he pointed to the enormous 
cannon which occupied the centre of the esplanade. 

“ It is already loaded. You are about to be bound to 
to its mouth ; and to-morrow morning, when the sun 
rises, that cannon’s roar shall announce throughout the 
depths of the Vindhyas that the vengeance of Nana Sahib 
is at last complete ! ” 

Colonel Munro fixed his eyes on the Nabob with a 
composure which proved that death, even such a death, 
had no terrors for him. 

“ It is well,” he said. “You do as I should have done 
had you fallen into my hands.” And walking up to the gun, 
he placed himself before it ; his hands were tied behind 
his back, and by strong cords he was bound across its 
deadly mouth. 

There, for more than an hour, he was subjected to the 
base insults of all these savage men. 






Amid savage men. 

Page 213 . 




FACE TO FACE. 


213 


The brave colonel remained unmoved before their 
outrages, as before death itself. 

Night fell. Nana Sahib, Kalagani, and Nassim withdrew 
into the old barracks. Their men, at length weary of 
tormenting the captive, followed their leaders. 

Sir Edward Munro was alone in the presence of Death, 
and of his God. 


214 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER XII. 

AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 

The silence was not long unbroken. 

An ample supply of provisions and abundance of “arrack ” 
quickly excited the Dacoits, who ate and drank immode- 
rately, to noisy and vociferous clamour. 

By degrees, however, the uproar subsided. Sleep over- 
took the ruffians, who were wearied by days spent on the 
watch, before capturing their prisoner. 

Was it possible he would be left thus alone until the 
hour of execution ? Even though secured by triple cords 
round breast and arms, incapable of the least movement, 
would not Nana Sahib place a guard over his victim ? 

While such thoughts passed through the colonel’s mind 
a Dacoit left the barracks, and came across the es- 
planade. 

This man was appointed to keep watch over the 
prisoner throughout the night. 

He approached the gun, and after ascertaining that 


AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


215 


Colonel Munro’s position remained unaltered, he tried the 
cords with no gentle hand, muttering, — 

“ Ten pounds of gunpowder ! The old gun has not 
spoken for a long time. To-morrow she will say some- 
thing worth hearing.” 

This remark brought a haughty smile to the lips of the 
gallant colonel. The most fearful death had no terrors for 
him. 

The native then went round the cannon caressing it with 
his hand, and resting his finger for an instant on the touch- 
hole. There he stood, leaning on the breach of the gun, 
apparently losing all recollection of the prisoner, who re- 
mained like a culprit beneath the gibbet, waiting till the 
fatal bolt be withdrawn. 

Somewhat affected by the powerful spirit he had been 
drinking, and utterly indifferent to the awful position of 
the unhappy prisoner, the Hindoo indistinctly hummed the 
air of an old Hindoostanee song, breaking off and resuming 
the tune as a man does when, under the influence of 
liquor, his thoughts gradually escape control. 

Presently he stood erect. Again passing his hand all 
over the gun, he came round it and stopped in front of the 
colonel, gazing stupidly as he muttered incoherent words. 
He touched the cords and seemed about to draw them 
tighter, then nodding his head as if reassured, sauntered 
up to the parapet about a dozen paces off. 


21 6 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


For ten minutes he remained there, resting his arms on 
the top, sometimes glancing round, and then again gazing 
far down into the abyss at the foot of the fortress. 

It was plain he was making a last effort against the 
drowsiness which threatened to overcome him. But at 
last he yielded, let himself drop to the ground and there 
lay stretched, the shadow of the parapet completely hiding 
him. 

The night was intensely dark. Heavy clouds hung 
low and motionless. The atmosphere was still and op- 
pressive. No sound from the valley reached this height, 
perfect silence reigned around. 

For the honour of brave Colonel Munro we must de- 
scribe how he spent this terrible night. Not for a moment 
did he allow his thoughts to dwell on that last moment of 
his life, now fast approaching when with rude force his 
body would be blown to pieces and the atoms scattered 
far and wide. After all it would be , instantaneous, and 
such a death had no terrors for a nature on which no 
moral or physical danger ever had effect. A few hours 
were still his, they belonged to this life which for the 
greater part had been spent so happily. His whole exist- 
ence passed before him with wonderful exactitude. The 
image of Lady Munro arose. Once more he saw, he heard 
that dear one whom still he mourned as in the first days 
of his bereavement, no longer with tears but with an ever- 


AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


217 


aching heart ! In his thoughts he returned to the begin- 
ning of his acquaintance with her, then a fair young girl 
living in the doomed town of Cawnpore, in the house 
where first he admired, knew, and loved her! He lived 
over again those few years of happiness, suddenly termi- 
nated by that most frightful catastrophe. He could recall 
every word, look, glance of hers, with such distinctness 
that the reality itself could hardly have been more real ! 
Midnight passed without his being aware of it. The pre- 
sent was forgotten by him. Nothing could disturb him in 
his blissful recollections of his adored wife. In three hours 
he had gone over every day of the three years they had 
spent together. Yes ! he was far away in imagination 
from the plateau and fortress of Ripore, far away from the 
mouth of that cannon, which the first rays of the sun were 
to fire ! 

But now came that horrible siege of Cawnpore, the im- 
prisonment of Lady Munro and her mother in the Bibi- 
Ghar, the frightful massacre, and lastly the well, the tomb 
of two hundred victims on which four months ago he had 
wept for the last time. 

And now that demon, Nana Sahib, was here, only a 
few yards from him, behind the walls of the ruined 
barrack. The leader of the massacres, the murderer of 
Lady Munro, and of so many other unhappy beings ! It 
was into this assassin’s hands he had fallen, he who 


218 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


had hoped to do justice on the assassin who had hitherto 
escaped. 

These thoughts roused Sir Edward. With an impulse 
of blind anger he made one desperate effort to free himself. 
The cords stretched, but the tightened knots cut into his 
flesh. He uttered a cry, not of pain, but of impotent rage. 
At the sound the native raised his head. His senses 
returned, he remembered that he was guarding the 
prisoner. 

He got up and staggered to the colonel, laid his hand 
on his shoulder to make sure his prisoner was still there, 
and in a drowsy tone muttered, — 

“ To-morrow, at sunrise — Boom ! ” 

Then he returned to the parapet as if for support, but 
no sooner did he touch it than he again lay down and 
was soon sound asleep. 

After that one vain effort, calm fell upon Colonel Munro. 
The course of his thoughts was changed, though not 
directed to the fate which awaited him. By a natural 
association of ideas his mind reverted to his friends, his 
companions. He wondered whether they also had fallen 
into the hands of another band of the Dacoits who swarm all 
over the Vindhyas, whether a fate similar to his own might 
not be reserved for them : the very idea sent a pang through 
his heart. But then he told himself that such a thing 
could not be. If the Nabob had wished their death, would 





“ To-morrow ! — Boom ! ” 


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AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


219 


he not have united them together in the same punishment, 
to double his agony by the sight of his friends’ ? No ! it 
was on him, and on him alone — this he strove to believe — 
that Nana Sahib wished to wreak his hatred ! 

Then if Banks, Captain Hood, and Maucler were free, 
what were they doing ? Had they taken the road to Jub- 
bulpore, mounted on Behemoth ? The Dacoits had not 
been able to destroy him, and he could carry them quickly. 
Once there, they could soon get help. But what would 
be the use of it then ? How could they find out where 
the colonel was ? No one knew of the fortress of Ripore, 
the retreat of Nana Sahib. And besides, why should the 
name of the Nabob come into their minds ? Did they not 
believe that Nana Sahib was dead, that he fell in the 
attack on the Pal of Tandit ? No, they could do nothing 
for the prisoner! 

Neither from Goumi could help be expected. Kalagani 
had had every reason for getting rid of this faithful servant ; 
and since Goumi was not there, it was because his death 
had preceded that of his master ! 

It was useless to count on even one chance of deliverance. 
Colonel Munro was not the sort of man who would delude 
himself with vain hopes. He saw his position in its true 
light, and he returned to his thoughts of the past, and all 
its happy days and hours. 

How long a time was spent thus he would have found 


220 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


it difficult to determine. The night was still dark. No 
faint streak of light as yet appeared on the mountain peaks 
to herald the approach of dawn. 

It must have been about four in the morning, when the 
attention of Colonel Munro was arrested by a most singular 
phenomenon. Whilst living that past inner existence, he 
had no eyes for anything near him ; scenes of other days 
were before him. 

Exterior objects, indistinctly seen in the gloom, had no 
attraction for him, when suddenly his eyes became conscious 
of something which ’caused the vision called up by his 
imagination totally to vanish. In fact, the colonel was no 
longer alone on the esplanade of Ripore. A wavering 
light had all at once appeared towards the end of the path, 
near the postern of the fortress. It went to and fro, now 
dim, now bright, one moment almost extinguished, the 
next resuming its brilliancy, as if held in an insecure 
hand. 

In the prisoner’s position, every incident had its import- 
ance. He watched the light intently. Observing that a 
smoky vapour rose from it, he concluded it was not enclosed 
in a lantern. 

“ One of my companions,” thought the colonel. “ Goumi, 
perhaps ! But no ! He would not be there with a light 
to betray his presence. Who can it be ? ” 

The flame slowly advanced. It glided along the wall of 


AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


221 


the old barrack, so close, indeed, that Sir Edward feared 
it would be perceived by the natives sleeping within. 

No notice was taken. The light passed unobserved. 
Every now and then, when the hand that bore it waved it 
wildly aloft, it blazed up afresh, and burned more brightly. 
By the time it reached the parapet, and moved along the 
crest, like St. Elmo’s Fire in a stormy night, the colonel 
had begun to distinguish a phantom — no distinct outline, 
but a vague shadow flitting onwards. The being, whoever 
it was, was clothed in a long garment, covering both arms 
and head. 

The prisoner did not move. He scarcely dared to 
breathe. He feared to terrify this apparition, or see the 
flame disappear in the darkness. He kept as motionless 
as the weighty piece of metal which held him, as it were, in 
its enormous jaws. 

In the meantime the phantom continued to glide along 
the parapet. Suppose it stumbled over the body of the 
sleeping Hindoo ! No, that was not likely ; for the man 
lay to the left of the cannon, whilst the apparition advanced 
from the right, stopping sometimes, but ever gradually 
drawing nearer. 

It at last came so close that Colonel Munro could see 
it distinctly. What he saw was a being of medium height, 
entirely covered by a long mantle. One hand alone was 
visible, bearing a lighted torch. 


222 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ It is some madman,” thought the colonel, “ who is so 
accustomed to visit the Dacoits’ encampment, that they 
take no notice of him ! Why hasn’t he a dagger in 
his hand instead of a torch ? Perhaps I should be 
able — ” 

It was not a madman, and yet Sir Edward had nearly 
guessed aright. 

This was the madwoman of the Nerbudda valley, the 
unconscious creature who for the last four months had 
strayed about the Vindhyas, always respected and hospit- 
ably received by the superstitious Ghoonds. Neither 
Nana Sahib nor any of his companions knew of the part 
“ Roving Flame ” had taken in the attack on the Pal of 
Tandit. Many a time had they met her in this mountain- 
ous district of Bundelkund, but her presence had never 
caused them any anxiety. Often had her incessant 
wanderings led her to the fortress of Ripore, and no one 
ever dreamt of driving her away. It was only by chance 
that her nocturnal peregrinations had brought her there 
that night. 

Colonel Munro knew nothing about this madwoman. 
He had never heard of Roving Flame ; and yet as this 
unknown being approached, and was about to touch and 
perhaps speak to him, his heart beat with unaccountable 
violence. 

Little by little the madwoman drew near the cannon. 


AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


223 


Her torch burned dimly ; she did not appear to see the 
prisoner, although she was face to face with him, and her 
eyes were visible through openings like holes in the hood 
of a “ penitent.” 

Sir Edward did not stir. Neither by word nor by gesture 
did he seek to attract the attention of this strange 
being. 

At last she turned and flitted round the huge gun, the 
light she carried casting little wandering shadows over its 
surface. 

Did the poor, bewildered brain know the use of this gun, 
standing there like a monster ; that a man was bound to 
its mouth, and that, at the first morning beam of light, it 
would vomit forth a fearful burst of thunder and lightning? 

Far from it. Roving Flame was there as she might 
be anywhere, quite unconscious. She wandered about 
to-night as she had done many a time before on the 
esplanade. Then she would probably leave the spot, glide 
down the winding path to the valley, and thence stray 
wherever her fancy took her. 

As Colonel Munro could freely turn his head, he followed 
all her movements. He saw her pass round the gun and 
direct her steps in the direction of the postern. 

Suddenly Roving Flame stopped only a few paces from 
the sleeping native, and turned. Some invisible power 
seemed to draw her forward, some unaccountable instinct 


224 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


brought her back to the colonel, and again she stood 
motionless before him. 

Sir Edward’s heart beat vehemently, as though it wor’ 
burst from his bosom. 

Roving Flame moved yet nearer. She raised her torch 
to a level with the prisoner’s face, as though the better to 
see him. Nothing of her own face was visible except her 
eyes, and they were brilliant with a feverish fire. 

Colonel Munro gazed intently, as if fascinated. 

The left hand of this strange being gradually drew back 
the folds of its garment until her face was exposed to view, 
and at the same time she shook the torch until it blazed 
afresh, and threw a bright light around. 

A half-stifled cry broke from the prisoner, — 

“ Laura ! Laura ! ” 

He thought he must be going mad himself. 

He closed his eyes for a moment. 

Then again he looked at her. It was Lady Munro ! It 
was his wife who stood before him ! 

“ Laura ! — you ! — is it you ? ” he stammered. 

Lady Munro answered not a word. She did not 
recognize him. She did not even appear to hear him. 

“ Laura ! Mad ! — yes, mad ! but living ! ” 

Sir Edward could not have been deceived by a mere 
resemblance. The image of his wife was too deeply 
graven on his heart. Sadly changed, but still beautiful, 



“Laura ! ” 


Page 224 . 

















































































AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


225 


was Lady Munro, and even after nine years of a separation 
which her husband had deemed eternal, he knew her to be 
his wife. 

This poor lady, after doing all in her power to defend 
her mother, slain before her eyes, had herself fallen 
wounded, but not mortally; she was one of the last thrown 
into the well of Cawnpore on the heap of victims already 
filling it. When night fell, the instinct of self-preservation 
caused her to struggle to the margin of the well — instinct 
alone, for reason had fled at the horror of these awful 
scenes. After all she had suffered from the com- 
mencement of the siege, in the prison of the Bibi-Ghar, 
and at the massacre, finally seeing her mother slain had 
driven away her senses. She was mad, quite mad, but 
living, just as Munro had said. Crazed, she had dragged 
herself out of the well, and had wandered away and left 
the town, as did Nana Sahib and his followers after the 
bloody execution. Mad, she had escaped in the darkness 
through the country; avoiding town and inhabited districts, 
received by the poor ryots, and respected by them as a being 
deprived of reason, the poor creature had roamed onwards 
until she reached the Sautpoora Mountains, and then the 
Vindhyas. Dead to every one for nine years, crazed by the 
horrors she had witnessed, she wandered incessantly, unable 
ever to rest ! 

And this was she ! 


VOL. II. 


Q 


226 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Colonel Munro called again. No answer. 

Oh, what would he not have given for power to fold 
her in his arms, carry her, fly with her, and commence a 
new life at her side ! With the care and the great love 
he would lavish on her, reason could surely be won back ! 
But what vain fancies were these ? Was he not powerless, 
bound to this mass of metal, his limbs cut and numb 
with the tightly-drawn cords, utterly unable to stir, in 
spite of all his wild longing to tear her away from that 
accursed spot ! 

What torture, what agony was that ! Far beyond even 
what Nana Sahib’s cruel imagination could have conceived. 
Ah, if that demon had been there, if he had known that 
Lady Munro was in his power, what horrible joy he would 
have felt. With what refinement of cruelty he could have 
increased the sufferings of his prisoner. 

“ Laura ! Laura ! ” repeated Sir Edward, raising his 
voice even at the risk of arousing his guard, sleeping but a 
few steps distant, or the Dacoits in the old barrack, or 
Nana Sahib himself. 

Neither comprehending him nor seeing who he was, 
Lady Munro kept her wild eyes fixed on the colonel’s 
face. She understood nothing of the frightful torture 
inflicted on him, at thus finding his wife again, only 
when he himself had but an hour to live. She shook 
her head slightly, as though she had no wish to reply. 


AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


227 


A few minutes passed like this ; then her hand sunk 
down, her mantle fell again over her face, and she drew back 
a step .or two. 

She was leaving him ! 

“Laura!” cried once more the agonized husband, as 
though he were bidding her a last farewell. 

But no, it was evidently not yet her intention to leave 
the esplanade. The situation, already so dreadful, was now 
to be aggravated in a terrible degree. 

Lady Munro stopped. The cannon had attracted her 
attention. Perhaps it awoke in her darkened mind some 
shadowy recollection of the siege of Cawnpore. At any 
rate, she slowly returned. The hand which held the 
torch cast the light over every part of the gun. The 
smallest spark falling on the touch-hole would take instant 
effect ! 

Must he then die by that hand, the one in all the 
world most dear to him ? 

The thought was too awful to be endured. Far better 
were it to perish before the eyes of the Nana and his 
men. 

He must shout and arouse his executioners ! 

Suddenly from the interior of the cannon he felt a hand 
grasp his. Yes, it was true ; a friendly hand was busy at 
the cords. Then he became aware that a sharp blade 
was carefully cutting between the knots and his wrists. 

Q 2 


228 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


By some miracle a liberator was near him, in the very 
heart of the instrument of death! 

One by one the cords were severed. 

In a second it was done, he took a step forward ! He 
was free ! 

All his self-command was required to restrain himself. 
The least sound would be certain ruin. 

From the mouth of the piece issued a hand. Munro 
grasped it ; with his assistance a man struggled forth, and 
fell at his feet. 

It was Goumi ! 

After his escape from Kalagani, this faithful servant had 
followed the road to Jubbulpore, instead of returning to 
the lake towards which Nassim’s band was proceeding. On 
reaching the path to Ripore, he had been obliged to 
conceal himself a second time on meeting a party of 
natives. From his hiding-place he overheard them speak- 
ing of Colonel Munro, who was to be brought by the 
Dacoits, headed by Kalagani, to the fortress, where Nana 
Sahib had determined his death should take place. 

Unhesitatingly, Goumi crept cautiously up the winding 
path, and reached the then deserted esplanade. There the 
heroic idea occurred to him that he would creep into the 
huge gun, hoping to save his master if it were possible, 
and if not, to die with him ! 

“ Day is breaking ! ” whispered Goumi. “ We must fly.” 















































/ 






i 








' 































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. 















































Miii;!; 



A terrific roar. 




Pfl-ge 229 . 










AT THE CANNON’S MOUTH. 


229 


“And Lady Munro ? ” murmured the colonel, pointing 
to the motionless figure, now standing with her hand 
resting on the breech of the gun. 

“ In our arms, master ! ” answered Goumi, asking no 
explanation. 

It was too late ! 

As the colonel and Goumi approached to seize her, the 
poor lady to escape them leant across the gun. A spark fell 
from her torch, and a terrific roar, echoing from cliff to cliff 
of the Vindhyas, filled the valley as with a burst of thunder. 


230 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


CHAPTER XIII. 

BEHEMOTH ! 

At this tremendous report, Lady Munro fell fainting into 
the arms of her husband. Without losing a moment the 
colonel darted across the esplanade, Goumi, after giving his 
quietus to the astounded guard, following. 

Scarcely had they passed through the postern before 
the esplanade was covered with the suddenly awakened 
men. 

A moment’s hesitation ensued, which was favourable to 
the fugitives. 

Nana Sahib rarely passed the night in the fortress ; and 
the evening before, after binding Colonel Munro to the 
cannon’s mouth, he had gone to meet some chiefs whom he 
did not dare to visit in open da y. But this was the hour 
at which he usually returned, and he would not be long in 
appearing. 

Kalagani, Nassim, Hindoos, and Dacoits, more than a 
hundred men in all, would instantly have set off in pursuit 


BEHEMOTH ! 


231 


of the prisoner. One thing alone delayed them. They 
were perfectly ignorant of what had occurred ; and the dead 
body of the native who had been entrusted with the charge 
of the colonel completely mystified them. 

Their natural thought was that in all probability, by 
some strange mischance, the gun had gone off before the 
hour fixed, and that now the body of the prisoner was 
blown to pieces. 

The fury of Kalagani and the others vented itself in a 
storm of oaths and abuse. Had Nana Sahib and the rest 
been after all deprived of the pleasure of witnessing the last 
moments of Colonel Munro ? 

The Nabob was at no great distance. He must have 
heard the report, and be even now returning in all haste to 
the fortress. What reply could they make when he required 
at their hands the prisoner whom he had left in their 
charge ? 

This hesitation and delay, slight as it was, gave the 
fugitives time to get some little distance before being 
perceived. 

Sir Edward and Goumi, full of hope after their miraculous 
deliverance, rapidly descended the winding path, the strong 
arms of the colonel scarcely feeling their burden. His 
faithful servant kept close at his side, ready to defend or 
assist him. 

Five minutes after leaving the postern, they were half- 


232 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


way between the plateau and the valley. But day was 
breaking, and already a glimmering light penetrated to the 
bottom of the narrow gorge. 

A yell burst from the heights above them. 

As he leant over the parapet, Kalagani had caught sight 
of two fugitives. One of them must be the prisoner of the 
Nana. 

“ Munro ! There is Munro ! ” shouted Kalagani, mad 
with rage. 

And with a bound he was through the postern, and in hot 
pursuit, followed by all his band. 

“ We are seen,” said the colonel, increasing his speed. 

“ I will stop the first ! ” said Goumi. “ They will kill me, 
but it may give you time to reach the high road.’'’ 

“ They shall either kill us both, or we will escape 
together ! ” responded Munro. 

The part of the way now reached was less rough, and 
they could therefore proceed faster. Forty feet farther and 
they would be in the Ripore road leading to the highway. 

But though flight would be easier, so also would be the 
pursuit. To seek concealment was useless. Both would 
have been discovered immediately. The only chance of 
ultimate escape was to reach the open country. 

Colonel Munro’s resolve was taken. He would not again 
fall alive into the hands of Nana Sahib. Rather than leave 
her, who had just been restored to him, in the power of the 


BEHEMOTH ! 


233 


Nabob, he would plunge Goumi’s dagger into her heart, and 
then himself die by the same weapon. 

“ Courage, master ! ” said Goumi, ready, if need were, 
to shield the colonel with his own body. “ In five minutes 
we shall be on the Jubbulpore road ! ” 

“ God grant that we may find help there ! ” murmured 
the colonel. 

The shouts of the natives were becoming more and more 
distinct. 

On hurried the fugitives ; they were at the road ; they 
turned the corner. To their horror there, close to them, 
were two men, rapidly advancing from the opposite 
direction. 

It was now light enough to distinguish faces clearly, and 
two names, uttered like a cry of hatred, burst forth at the 
same moment. 

“ Munro ! ” 

“ Nana Sahib ! ” 

On hearing the report of the cannon, the Nabob had 
hastened with all speed towards the fortress. He could 
not understand why his orders should have been executed 
before the hour he had named. 

A Hindoo accompanied him ; but before this man had 
time to make even a sign, he fell at Goumi’s feet, stabbed 
with the same knife which had severed the colonel’s 
bonds. 


234 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


“ Help ! here ! ” cried the Nana to the men who were 
dashing down the path. 

“Yes, here!” returned Goumi ; and like a lightning 
flash he was upon the Nabob. 

His intention was — if he failed in killing him at the 
first blow — at least to struggle with him, so as to give 
Colonel Munro time to reach the high road ; but the knife 
was struck from his grasp, and fell to the ground. 

Furious at being disarmed, Goumi seized his adversary 
round the body, and lifting him in his powerful arms, 
actually carried him off, determining to spring with him 
over the nearest precipice into the abyss beneath. 

In the meanwhile, Kalagani and his companions were 
rapidly approaching ; in another minute they would be 
upon them, and then what hope of escape could there 
be ? 

“ Another effort ! ” repeated Goumi. “ I can keep them 
at bay for a few minutes by using their Nabob as a shield ! 
Fly, master, fly without me !” 

The pursuers were close behind. In a half-strangled 
voice the Nabob called on Kalagani. Suddenly, not twenty 
paces from them, other cries rose. 

“ Munro ! Munro ! ” 

There on the Ripore road was Banks, with him Captain 
Hood, Maucler, Sergeant McNeil, Fox, Parazard, and a 
little way behind them, on the high road, vomiting forth 


BEHEMOTH ! 


235 


torrents of steam, Behemoth, in charge of Storr and 
Kalouth. 

After the destruction of the last car composing Steam 
House, the engineer and his companions had no alternative 
but to use as a vehicle the elephant, which the Dacoits 
had been unable to destroy. Perched on Behemoth, they 
soon left Lake Puturia, and advanced along the Jubbulpore 
road. But just as they were passing the turning which led 
to the fortress, the tremendous report bursting over their 
heads caused them to halt. 

Some presentiment, instinct, call it what you will, made 
them spring to the ground, and hurry at full speed up 
the steep road. What they hoped or expected they could 
not have told. 

A sudden turn brought them all at once in full view of 
the colonel, whose first cry was, — 

“ Save Lady Munro ! ” 

“And keep fast hold of the true Nana Sahib ! ” gasped 
Goumi, who with a last furious effort had thrown the half 
suffocated man to the ground. 

Captain Hood, McNeil, and Fox quickly seized and 
made him prisoner, and without asking any other explana- 
tion the whole party hastened back to Behemoth. 

By order of the colonel, who wished to give him up to 
English justice, Nana Sahib was bound to the elephant's 
neck. Lady Munro was placed in the howdah, her husband 


236 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


by her side ; she was gradually recovering from her faint, 
and he anxiously watched for the least gleam of reason. 

All were soon on the elephant’s back. 

“ At full speed ! ” cried Banks. 

It was time. Already the foremost natives were but a 
hundred yards distant. All would be well if Behemoth 
could only reach before them the advanced post of the 
military cantonment of Jubbulpore, commanding the last 
defile of the Vindhyas, 

The engine was abundantly supplied with water and fuel, 
everything necessary to maintain pressure, and keep up 
the utmost speed. But the road being full of sudden turns 
and angles, careful steering was necessary, it was not safe 
to rush blindly on. 

The natives gained visibly, and their shouts redoubled. 

“We shall have to defend ourselves,” said McNeil. 

“ And we will defend ourselves ! ” returned Captain 
Hood, with determination. 

A dozen cartridges were all they had ! Not a single 
shot must miss, for their pursuers were armed, and every- 
thing depended on their being kept at a distance. 

Hood and Fox, rifle in hand, posted themselves in the 
rear, at the back of the howdah. Goumi was forward, but 
still able to take good aim ; McNeil was stationed near 
Nana Sahib, revolver in one hand, and dagger in the other, 
ready to stab him if the Hindoos seemed likely to overpower 



Hot pursuit. 


Page 236 , 


















\ 


BEHEMOTH ! 


237 


them. Kalouth and Parazard supplied the furnaces. 
Banks and Storr drove the engine. 

Already the pursuit had lasted ten minutes. Two hun- 
dred paces at most divided the parties. Though the natives 
went faster, the elephant could of course keep up his speed 
longer. The only tactics it was possible to employ were to 
keep the enemy from getting ahead. 

At that moment a dozen shots rang out from the pur- 
suers. The balls whistled harmlessly over Behemoth, except 
one which struck the end of his trunk. 

“ Don’t fire yet ! We mustn’t fire till we are certain of 
hitting ! ” cried Captain Hood. “ Save your fire ! they are 
too far off yet ! ” 

Banks, now seeing a straight line of road before him, 
opened wide the regulator ; and Behemoth, dashing forward, 
left the enemy several hundred yards behind. 

“ Hurrah ! hurrah for old Behemoth ! ” shouted the cap- 
tain, wild with excitement. “Ha, ha! those scoundrels 
can’t catch him ! ” 

But at the end of this straight bit of road lay a steep and 
winding pass or defile, the last on this south side of the 
Vindhyas, which must necessarily delay the progress of 
Banks and his companions. Kalagani and his party, 
knowing this, redoubled their efforts. 

On went Behemoth, and now he was in the narrow road 
with a precipitous cliff on either side. 


238 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Speed was slackened, and Banks had to steer with the 
greatest care. Of course the natives soon regained all the 
ground they had lost. Though they had no hope of saving 
Nana Sahib, who was at the mercy of a dagger-thrust, at 
least they could avenge his death ! 

Another discharge was fired, but without touching any 
one on Behemoth’s back. 

“ This is getting serious ! ” said the captain, levelling his 
gun. “ Attention ! ” 

He and Goumi fired simultaneously. Two of the fore- 
most natives were struck full in the chest and fell. 

“ Two less !” said Goumi, reloading his weapon. 

“ Two out of a hundred ! ” returned Hood. “ That is 
not nearly enough ! We must make them pay more dearly 
than that ! ” 

And three more natives fell dead. 

It was impossible to go fast along this winding defile ; 
and besides, as it narrowed, the way became steeper. How- 
ever, another half-mile and the last slope of the Vindhyas 
would be crossed, and Behemoth would find himself not a 
hundred yards from an outpost almost in sight of Jubbul- 
pore. 

These natives were not the sort of men to be terrified at 
the fire directed against them. They counted their lives as 
nothing when the duty of saving or avenging Nana Sahib 
was in question. Ten— twenty of them might fall ; but 


BEHEMOTH ! 


239 


eighty would still remain to rush on Behemoth, the moving 
citadel, and attack with murderous intent the little party it 
contained. 

Kalagani was well aware of the fact that Captain Hood 
and his friends had but a few cartridges left, and that con- 
sequently their guns would soon be but useless weapons in 
their hands. Half of their ammunition was indeed already 
gone. 

However, four more shots were fired, and four more 
Hindoos fell. Hood and Fox had now but a bullet a piece. 

At that moment Kalagani, who had till now been very 
cautious, sprang forward nearer than was prudent. 

“ Ha ! that’s you, is it ? I’ll have you now ! ” remarked 
the captain, taking aim with the greatest coolness. 

The shot struck the traitor in the very middle of the 
forehead. His hands clutched wildly at the air ; he made 
one bound, and fell dead on the spot ! 

Suddenly the end of the pass appeared before them. 
Behemoth made one last effort, 

Once more Fox’s rifle rang out, and one more native sank 
to the ground ! 

The natives perceiving immediately that the firing had 
ceased, pressed forward to the assault. 

“ Jump off ! ” cried Banks. 

Under the circumstances it was indeed best to abandon 
Behemoth, and hasten on foot to the outpost. 


240 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Colonel Munro, his wife in his arms, stepped down. 

Hood, Maucler, the Sergeant, and the rest speedily leapt 
off. 

Banks alone remained in the howdah ! 

“ And that villain ! ” cried Captain Hood, pointing to 
Nana Sahib, who was still bound to the elephant’s neck. 

“ Leave him to me, captain ! ” returned Banks, in a 
significant tone. 

Then, giving a last turn to the regulator, he also 
descended. 

All hurried as fast as they could along the road, daggers 
in their hands, prepared to sell their lives dearly. 

Behemoth, left to himself, continued to move, but having 
no one to guide him, soon ran against the cliff and there 
abruptly stopped, entirely barring the road. 

On came the natives ; with a rush they were upon him, 
eager to liberate the Nana. 

Suddenly a tremendous roar, like a most frightful crash 
of thunder, rent the air. 

Before leaving the howdah, Banks had heavily charged 
the valves of the engine. The vapour reached extreme 
tension, and when Behemoth ran against the cliff,, finding 
noway of escape through the cylinders, it burst the boiler, 
the fragments flying far and wide. 

“ Poor Behemoth ! ” cried Captain Hood, 
died to save us !” 


“ He has 


CAPTAIN PIOOD’S FIFTIETH TIGER. 


241 


CHAPTER XIV. 

CAPTAIN HOOD’S FIFTIETH TIGER. 

COLONEL Munro and his party had now nothing further 
to fear either from the nabob and the natives who followed 
his fortunes, or from the Dacoits who had so long troubled 
this part of Bundelkund. 

At the sound of the explosion, soldiers issued from the 
guard-house in imposing numbers. Finding themselves 
without a leader, the Dacoits no sooner perceived this rein- 
forcement than they instantly took to flight. 

Colonel Munro made himself known. In half an hour’s 
time they reached the station, where they were supplied 
with all they needed, and especially food, of which they 
were in great want. 

Lady Munro was lodged in a comfortable hotel, until 
it was possible for her to be removed to Bombay. There 
Sir Edward trusted that his tender care would at last 
restore life to the soul of her whose body was at present 


VOL. II. 


R 


242 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


the only living part, and who would be still dead to h.m 
unless her reason returned ! 

None of his friends despaired of the final recovery of 
Lady Munro. All confidently awaited it as the only 
thing which could entirely alter the colonel’s existence. 

It was settled that the next day they should start for 
Bombay by the first train. This time they would be carried 
away by a common locomotive, instead of the indefatigable 
Behemoth, who now, alas 1 lay in shapeless ruins. 

But neither his ardent admirer, Captain Hood, nor 
Banks, his ingenious inventor, nor indeed any of the 
members of the expedition could ever forget the “ faithful 
animal,” to whom they all agreed in ascribing real life. 
Long did the noise of the explosion which annihilated him 
ring in their ears. 

Before leaving Jubbulpore, Banks, Hood, Maucler, Fox, 
and Goumi naturally wished to pay a visit to the scene of 
the catastrophe. 

There was nothing to be feared from, the band of Dacoits, 
yet as a precautionary measure, when the engineer and 
his companions reached the outpost, a detachment of 
soldiers joined them, and proceeded with them to the 
entrance of the defile. 

On the ground lay five or six mutilated corpses, the 
bodies of those who had rushed on Behemoth for the pur- 
pose of freeing Nana Sahib. 








Farewell, Behemoth ! 


Page 243 . 






CAPTAIN HOOD’S FIFTIETH TIGER. 


243 


Of the remainder of the band there was not a trace. 
Instead of returning to the ruined fortress, the last faithful 
followers of the Nana had dispersed through the Nerbudda 
Valley. 

Poor Behemoth had been utterly destroyed by the 
bursting of his boiler. One of his huge feet was found at 
a great distance. A gart of his trunk blown against the 
cliff, stuck fast, and now projected like a gigantic 
arm. To a great distance the ground was strewn with 
fragments of iron, screws, bolts, pins, remains of pipes, 
valves, and cylinders. At the moment of the explosion the 
tension of the force of steam must indeed have been terrific, 
perhaps exceeding twenty atmospheres. 

And now, of that artificial elephant of which the dwellers 
in Steam House had been so proud, that colossal animal 
which had provoked the superstitious admiration of the 
natives, the mechanical masterpiece of Banks the engineer, 
the realized dream of the whimsical Rajah of Bhootan, 
what remained ? Only a valueless and unrecognizable 
skeleton ! 

“ Poor beast ! ” sighed Captain Hood as he gazed on the 
body of his beloved Behemoth. 

“ We can make ^another — another which shall be even 
still more powerful ! ” said Banks. 

“ No doubt,” returned the captain, heaving another deep 
sigh, “ but it won’t be him ! ” 

R 2 


244 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


Whilst pursuing their investigations, the engineer and 
his companions anxiously looked for the remains of Nana 
Sahib. Even if his face were not recognizable, the find- 
ing of a hand which had lost a finger would be sufficient to 
prove his identity. It would be satisfactory to have this un- 
questionable proof of the death of the man who could no 
longer be mistaken for his brother, J>alao Rao. 

But none of the bloody remains which strewed the 
ground appeared to belong to him who once was Nana 
Sahib. Had his followers carried away every trace and 
vestige of him? That was more than probable. 

The result of this was, that there being no certain proof 
of the death of Nana Sahib, a legend sprang up amongst 
the population of Central India. To them their unseen 
nabob was still living ; they regarded him as an immortal 
being. 

Banks and his friends were, however, positive that Nana 
Sahib could not have survived the explosion. 

They returned to the town, though not until Captain 
Hood had picked up a piece of one of Behemoth’s tusks, 
which he ever afterwards treasured as a remembrance. 

The next day, the 4th of October, all left Jubbulpore 
by train. Four-and-twenty hours later, they crossed the 
Western Ghauts, the Andes of Hindostan, which stretch 
their immense length through dense forests of banyans, 
sycamores, teaks, mingled with palms, cocoa-trees, arecas 


CAPTAIN HOOD’S FIFTIETH TIGER. 


245 


pepper-trees, sandal-wood, and bamboos. In a few hours 
more, the railway deposited them on the island of Bombay, 
which with the islands of Salsette, Elephanta, and others, 
forms a magnificent roadstead and port, at the south- 
eastern extremity of which stands the capital of the presi- 
dency. 

Colonel Munro did not wish to remain in this great 
town, swarming with Arabs, Persians, Banyans, Abyssinians, 
Parsees or Guebres, Scindes, Europeans of every nationality, 
and also Hindoos. 

The physicians whom he consulted on the state of 
Lady Munro, recommended him to take her to a villa in 
the neighbourhood, where perfect quiet, combined with their 
great attention and the incessant care of her husband, 
could not fail to produce a salutary effect. 

A month passed. Not one of the colonel’s companions, 
not one of his servants, thought of leaving him ; they wished 
to be near him on the not far-distant day which they hoped 
would witness the cure of the poor lady. 

This joy came at last. Little by little Lady Munro’s 
senses returned. The mind resumed its natural balance. 
Of her who had been Roving Flame there remained not a 
trace, she herself had no recollection of that sad time. 

“ Laura, Laura ! ” exclaimed the colonel, as Lady Munro 
at last fully recognizing him, was clasped in his arms. 

A week after this, the inhabitants of Steam House 


246 


THE STEAM HOUSE. 


were united once more in the bungalow at Calcutta. 
Another life was beginning in the beautiful dwelling very 
different to that which had formerly been passed within its 
walls. Banks was entreated to pass his leisure time there, 
Hood to return whenever he could get leave. As to 
McNeil and Goumi, they belonged to the house, and could 
never be separated from Colonel Munro. About this time 
Maucler was obliged to leave Calcutta to return to Europe. 
He took leave at the same time as Hood, whom the 
devoted Fox was to follow to the military cantonments of 
Madras. 

“Good-bye, captain,” said Colonel Munro; “I am glad 
to think that you have nothing to regret in your journey 
across Northern India, except not having shot your fiftieth 
tiger ! ” 

“But I did shoot him, colonel.” 

“ What ! the fiftieth ? When was that ? ” 

“ Why,” returned the captain, with a flourish, “ forty-nine 
tigers, and— Kalagani. Does not that make fifty ? ” 


END OF THE SECOND AND LAST PART. 


LONDON : 

GILBERT AND RIVTNGTON, PRINTERS, 

st. joiin’s square, 



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6 


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12 


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* Beethoven. 

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English Church Com- 
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students of history.” — Times. 


Masson's School Edition. The 

History of France from the Earliest Times to the Outbreak of the 
Revolution; abridged from the Translation by Robert Black, M.A., 
with Chronological Index, Historical and Genealogical Tables, &c. 
By Professor Gustave Masson, B. A., Assistant Master at Harrow 
School. With 24 full-page Portraits, and many other Illustrations. 
I vol., demy 8vo, 600 pp., cloth extra, ioj. 6d. 


Guizot' s History of England. In 3 vols. of about 500 pp. each, 
containing 60 to 70 Full-page and other Illustrations, cloth extra, gilt, 
24 s. each ; re-issue in cheaper binding, ioj. 6 d. each. 

“For luxury of typography, plainness of print, and beauty of illustration, these 
volumes, of which but one has as yet appeared in English, will hold their ov/n 
against any production of an age so luxurious as our own in everything, typography 
not excepted.” — Times. 

Guy on {Mde.) Life. By Upham. 6th Edition, crown 8vo, 6 s, 


J-JA NDB O OK to the Charities of London. See Low’s. 

Hall {IV. W) How to Live Long ; or, 1408 Health Maxims , 
Physical, Mental, and Moral. By W. W. Hall, A.M., M.D. 
Small post 8vo, cloth, 2 s. 2nd Edition. 


List of Publications. 


13 


Harper's Monthly Magazine. Published Monthly. 160 pages, 

fully Illustrated, ij. 

Vol. I. December, 1880, to May, 1881. 

,, II. May, 1881, to November, 1881. 

,, III. June to November, 1882. 

Super-royal 8vo, 8j. 6 d. each. 

“ ‘ Harper’s Magazine ’ is so thickly sown with excellent illustrations that to count 
them would be a work of time ; not that it is a picture magazine, for the engravings 
illustrate the text after the manner seen in some of our choicest editions deluxe.”— 
St. James's Gazette. 

“ It is so pretty, so big, and so cheap. . . . An extraordinary shillingsworth — 
160 large octavo pages, with over a score of articles, and more than three times as 
many illustrations.” — Edinburgh Daily Review. 

“ An amazing shillingsworth . . . combining choice literature of both nations. 
Nonconformist. 

Hatton (Joseph ) Journalistic London : Portraits and En- 
gravings, with letterpress, of Distinguished Writers of the Day. Fcap. 
4to, 12s. 6 d. 

Three Recruits , and the Girls they left behind them. 

Small post, 8vo, 6 s. 

“ It hurries us along in unflagging excitement.” — Times. 

ILeart of Africa. Three Years’ Travels and Adventures in the 
Unexplored Regions of Central Africa, from 1868 to 1871. By Dr. 
Georg Schweinfurth. Numerous Illustrations, and large Map. 
2 vols., crown 8vo, cloth, 15J. 

ILeath (. Francis George). See “Autumnal Leaves,” “Burnham 
Beeches,” “Fern Paradise,” “Fern World,” “Gilpin’s Forest 
Scenery,” “ Our Woodland Trees,” “ Peasant Life,” “Sylvan Spring,” 
“ Trees and Ferns,” “ Where to Find Ferns.” 

ILeber's ( Bishop ) Lllustrated Edition of Hymns. With upwards 
of 100 beautiful Engravings. Small 4to, handsomely bound, 7<-. 6 cl. 
Morocco, i8j. 6 d. and2U. New and Cheaper Edition, cloth, 3J. 6 d. 

LLeir of Kilfinnan (The). By W. H. G. Kingston. With 

Illustrations. Cloth, gilt edges, 7 s. 6 d. ; plainer binding, plain 
edges, 5-r. 

Heldmann (Bernard) Mutiny on Board the Ship “ LeanderP 

Small post 8vo, gilt edges, numerous Illustrations, 7 s. 6 d. 

Henty (G. A.) Winning his Spurs. Numerous Illustrations. 

Crown 8vo, 5 s. 

Cornet of Horse ; which see. 

Herrick (Robert) Poetry. Preface by Austin Dobson. With 

numerous Illustrations, by E. A. Abbey. 4to, gilt edges, 42 s. 

Histoiy of a Crime (The) ; Deposition of an Eye-witness. The 

Story of the Coup d’Btat. By Victor Hugo. Crown 8vo, 6 s . 


*4 


Sampson Low , Mars ton, 6 ° Co's 


History of Ancient Art. Translated from the German of John 
Winckelmann, by John Lodge, M.D. With very numerous 
Plates and Illustrations. 2 vols., 8vo, 36X. 

England. See Guizot. 

English Literature. See Scherr. 

Fashion. Coloured Plates. 2 8s. See Challamel. 

F?‘ance. See Guizot. 

Russia. See Ram baud. 

Merchant Shipping. See Lindsay. 

United States. See Bryant. 

History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and by Poiver. With 
several hundred Illustrations. By Alfred Barlow. Royal 8vo, 
cloth extra, il. 5-r. Second Edition. 

Hitchman ( Francis ) Public Life of the Right Hon. Benjamin 
Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. New Edition, with Portrait. Crown 
8 vo, 3J-. 6d. 

Holmes (O. W.) The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
In 2 vols., i8mo, exquisitely printed, and chastely bound in limp 
cloth, gilt tops, 1 ox. 6 d. 

LLoppus iff . D .) Riverside Papers. 2 vols., 12 s. 

Hovgaard (A.) See “ Nordenskiold’s Voyage.” 8vo, 21 s. 

How L Crossed Africa : from the Atlantic to the Lndian Ocean, 
Through Unknown Countries ; Discovery of the Great Zambesi 
Affluents, &c.— Vol. I., The King’s Rifle. Vol. II., The Coillard 
Family. By Major Serpa Pinto. With 24 full-page and 118 half- 
page and smaller Illustrations, 13 small Maps, and 1 large one. 
2 vols., demy 8vo, cloth extra, 42X. 

How to get Strong and how to Stay so. By William Blaikie. 
A Manual of Rational, Physical, Gymnastic, and other Exercises. 
With Illustrations, small post 8vo, 5x. 

Hugo (Victor) “ Ninety-Three .” Illustrated. Crown 8 vo, 6s. 

- Toilers of the Sea. Crown 8vo. Illustrated, 6s.; fancy 

boards, 2 s. ; cloth, 2 s. 6d. ; on large paper with all the original 
Illustrations, iox. 6d. 

and his Times. Translated from the French of A. 

Barbou by Ellen E. Frevver. 120 Illustrations, manv of them 
Irom designs by Victor Hugo himself. Super-royal 8vo, cloth extra, 
24X. 


See “ History of a Crime.” 


List of Publications. 


T 5 


Hundred Greatest Men ( The ). 8 portfolios, 21 s. each, or 4 

vols., half-morocco, gilt edges, 12 guineas, containing 15 to 20 
Portraits each. See below. 

“Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. are about to issue an important ‘ International’ 
work, entitled, ‘THE HUNDRED GREATEST MEN;’ being the Lives and 
Portraits of the ioo Greatest Men of History, divided into Eight Classes, each Class 
to form a Monthly Quarto Volume. The Introductions to the volumes are to be 
written by recognized authorities on the different subjects* the English contributors 
being Dean Stanley, Mr. Matthew Arnold, Mr. Froude, and Professor Max 
Muller: in Germany, Professor Helmholtz; in France, MM. Taine and 
Renan ; and in America, Mr. Emerson. The Portraits are to be Reproductions 
from fine and rare Steel Engravings.” — Academy. 

Hygiene and Public Health ( A Treatise o?i). Edited by A. H. 
Buck, M.D. Illustrated by numerous Wood Engravings. In 2 
royal 8vo vols., cloth, One guinea each. 

Hymnal Companion to Book of Common Prayer. See 

Bickerstetii. 


ILLUSTRATED Text-Books of Art-Education. Edited by 

Edward J. Poynter, R. A. Each Volume contains numerous Illus- 
trations, and is strongly bound for the use of Students, price 5 J * The 
Volumes now ready are: — 

PAINTING. 

Classic and Italian. By Percy French and Spanish. 

R. Head. English and American. 

German, Flemish, and Dutch. 

architecture. 

Classic and Early Christian. 

Gothic and Renaissance. By T. Roger Smith. 

sculpture. 

Antique : Egyptian and Greek. | Renaissance and Modern. 
Italian Sculptors of the 14 th and 15 th Centuries. 

ornament. 

Decoration in Colour. | Architectural Ornament. 

Illustrated Dictio 7 iary (An) of Words used in Art and 
Archaeology. Explaining Terms frequently used in Works on 
Architecture, Arms, Bronzes, Christian Art, Colour, Costume, Deco- 
ration, Devices, Emblems, Heraldry, Lace, Personal Ornaments, 
Pottery, Painting, Sculpture, &c., with their Derivations. By J. W. 
Mollett, B.A., Officier de l’lnstruction Publique (France); Author 
of “ Life of Rembrandt,” &c. Illustrated with 600 Wood Engravings. 
Small 4to, strongly bound in cloth, 15J. 

In my Indian Garden . By Phil Robinson, Author of “ Under 
the Punkah.” With a Preface by Edwin Arnold, M.A., C.S.I.,&c. 
Crown 8vo, limp cloth, 4th Edition, 3s. 6 d. 


i6 


Sampson Low , Marston , & G?.\f 


Irving ( Washington). Complete Library Edition of his Works 
in 2 7 Vols., Copyright, Unabridged, and with the Author’s Latest 
Revisions, called the “ Geoffrey Crayon” Edition, handsomely printed 
in large square 8vo, on superfine laid paper, and each volume, of 
about 500 pages, will be fully Illustrated. 12 s. 6d. per vol. See also 
“ Little Britain.” 

: — (“ American Men of Letters.”) 2 s. 6 d. 



AMES ( C .) Curiosities of Law and Lawyers. 
7 s. 6d. 


8vo, 


Johnson ( O .) William Lloyd Garrison and his Times. Crown 

8 vo, i2s. 6d. 


Jones (Major) The Emigrants' Friend. A Complete Guide to 

the United States. New Edition. 2 s. 6d. 


JJEMPIS (Thomas a) Daily Text- Book. 

1 2s. 6d. ; interleaved as a Birthday Book, 3^. 6 d. 


Square i6mo, 


Kingston (W. H. Gl). See “ Snow-Shoes,” “ Child of the 
Cavern,” “Two Supercargoes,” “With Axe and Rifle,” “Begum’s 
Fortune,” “Heir of Kilfinnan,” “Dick Cheveley.” Each vol., with 
very numerous Illustrations, square crown i6mo, gilt edges, Js. 6 d.\ 
plainer binding, plain edges, 5^. 


JADY Silverdale’s Sweetheart. 6 s. See Black. 

Lanier. See “ Boy’s Froissart,” “ King Arthur,” Szc. 

Lansdell (B.) Through Sihei'ia. 2 vols., demy 8vo, 30*. ; New 

Edition, very numerous illustrations, 8vo, 15.?. 

Larden ( W.) School Course on Heat. Illustrated, crown 8vo, 5 s. 

Lathrop (G. P.) In the Distance. 2 vols., crown 8vo, 211 

Lectures on Architecture. By E. Viollet-le-Duc. Translated 
by Benjamin Bucknall, Architect. With 33 Steel Plates and 200 
Wood Engravings. Super-royal 8vo, leather back, gilt top, with 
complete Index, 2 vols , 3/. 3J. 

Leyland (R. W.) A Holiday in South Africa. Crown 8vo 

1 2S. 6 d. 


List of Publications. 


17 


Library of Religious Poetry. A Collection of the Best Poems 
of all Ages and Tongues. Edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., 
and Arthur Gilman, M.A. Royal 8vo, 1036 pp., cloth extra, gilt 
edges, 21 s.; re-issue in cheaper binding, ioj. 6 d. 

Lindsay (IV. S.) History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient 
Commerce. Over 150 Illustrations, Maps, and Charts. In 4 vols., 
demy 8vo, cloth extra. Vols. 1 and 2, 11s. ; vols. 3 and 4, 14?. each. 
4 vols. complete for 50J. 

Little Britain; together with The Spectre Bridegroom, and A 
Legend of Sleepy Hollow. By Washington Irving. An entirely 
New Edition de luxe , specially suitable for Presentation. Illustrated 
by 120 very fine Engravings on Wood, by Mr. J. D. Cooper. 
Designed by Mr. Charles O. Murray. Re-issue, square crown 
8vo, cloth, 6j. 

Long (Mrs. W. H. C.) Peace and War in the Transvaal. 

i2mo, 3j. 6 d. 

Lorna Doone. 6s ., 3 it. 6d., 35T. See “ Blackmore.” 

Low's Select Novelets. Small post 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 

each. 

Friends: a Duet. By E. S- Phelps, Author of “The Gates 
Ajar.” 

Baby Rue : Her Adventures and Misadventures, her Friends 
and her Enemies. By Charles M. Clay. 

The Story of Helen Troy. 

A pleasant book.” — Truth. 

The Clients of Dr. Bernagius. From the French of Lucien 
Biart, by Mrs. Cashel Hoey. 

The Undiscovered Country. By W. D. Howells. 

A Gentleman of Leisure. By Edgar Fawcett. 

Low's Standard LAbrary of Travel and Adventure. Crown 8vo, 
bound uniformly in cloth extra, price Js. 6 d., except where price is 
given. 

1. The Great Lone Land. By Major W. F. Butler, C.B. 

2. The Wild North Land. By Major W. F. Butler, C.B. 

3. How I found Livingstone. By H. M. Stanley. 

4. Through the Dark Continent. By H. M. Stanley. 12 s. 6 <t. 

5. The Threshold of the Unknown Region. By C. R. Mark- 

ham. (4th Edition, with Additional Chapters, iot. 6 d.) 

6. Cruise of the Challenger. By W. J. J. Spry, R.N. 

7. Burnaby’s On Horseback through Asia Minor. 10s. 6 d. 

8. Schweinfurth’s Heart of Africa. 2 vols., 15J. 

9. Marshall’s Through America. 


iS Sampson Low , Mars ton, Co.'s 


Loids Standard Novels. Crown 8vo, 6 l each, cloth extra. 

Work. A Story of Experience. By Louisa M. Alcott. 

A Daughter of Heth. By W. Black. 

In Silk Attire. By W. Black. 

Kilmeny. A Novel. By W. Black. 

Lady Silverdale’s Sweetheart. By W. BLACK. 

Sunrise. By W. Black. 

Three Feathers. By William Black. 

Alice Lorraine. By R. D. Black MORE. 

Christowell, a Dartmoor Tale. By R. D. Blackmore. 

Clara Vaughan. By R. D. BLACKMORE. 

Cradock Nowell. By R. D. Blackmore. 

Cripps the Carrier. By R. D. Blackmore. 

Erema ; or, My Father’s Sin. By R. D. BLACKMORE. 

Lorna Doone. By R. D. Blackmore. 

Mary Anerley. By R. D. Blackmore. 

An English Squire. By Miss Coleridge. 

Mistress Judith. A Cambridgeshire Story. By C. C. Fraser- 
Tytler. 

A Story of the Dragonnades ; or, Asylum Christi. By the Rev. 

E. Gilliat, M.A. 

A Laodicean. By Thomas Hardy. 

Far from the Madding Crowd. By Thomas Hardy. 

The Hand of Ethelberta. By Thomas Hardy. 

The Trumpet Major. By Thomas Hardy. 

Three Recruits. By Joseiti Hatton. 

A Golden Sorrow. By Mrs. Cashel Hoey. New Edition. 

Out of Court. By Mrs. Cashel Hoey. 

History of a Crime : The Story of the Coup d’Etat. Victor 
Hugo. 

Ninety-Three. By Victor Hugo. Illustrated. 

Adela Cathcart. By George Mac Donald. 

Guild Court. By George Mac Donald. 

Mary Marston. By George Mac Donald. 

Stephen Archer. New Edition of “Gifts.” By George Mac 
Donald. 

The Vicar’s Daughter. By George Mac Donald. 

Weighed and Wanting. By George Mac Donald. 

[/« the Press. 

Diane. By Mrs. Macquoid. 

Elinor Dryden. By Mrs. MACQUOID. 

My Lady Greensleeves. By Helen Mathers. 

John Holdsworth. By W. Clark Russell. 

A Sailor’s Sweetheart. By W. Clark Russell. 

Wreck of the Grosvenor. By W. Clark Russell. 

The Afghan Knife. By R. A. Sterndale. 

My Wife and I. By Mrs. Beecher Stowe. 

Poganuc People, Their Loves and Lives. By Mrs. B. Stowe. 
Ben Hur : a Tale of the Christ. By Lew. Wallace. 


List of Publications. 


r 9 


Low' $ Handbook to the Charities of London ( Annual ). Edited 
and revised to date by C. Mackeson, F.S.S.,' Editor of “A Guide 
to the Churches of London and its Suburbs,” &c. Taper, ij. ; cloth, 
is. 6,1. 


DONALD ( G .) Orts. Small post 8vo, 6 s. 

• See also “ Low’s Standard Novels.” 

Macgregor (John) “ Rob Doy” on the Baltic. 3rd Edition, 

small post 8vo, 2 s. 6 d. ; cloth, gilt edges, 3s. 6d. 

A Thousand Miles in the u Rob Roy ” Canoe, nth 

Edition, small post 8vo, 2 s. 6d. j cloth, gilt edges, 3s. 6 d. 

- Description of the “ Rob Roy ” Canoe, with Plans, 

&c., is. 

— — The Voyage Alone in the Yawl “Rob Roy A New 

Edition, thoroughly revised, with additions, small post 8vo, 5-r. ; 
boards, 2 s. 6 d. 

Macquoid (Mrs.). See Low’s Standard Novels. 

Magazine. See Harper, Union Jack, The Etcher, Men 
of Mark. 

Magyarland. A Narrative of Travels through the Snowy Car - 
pathians, and Great Alfold of the Magyar. By a Fellow of the Car- 
pathian Society (Diploma of 1881), and Author of “ The Indian Alps.” 
2 vols., 8vo, cloth extra, with about 120 Woodcuts from the Author’s 
own sketches and drawings, 38^. 

Manitoba : its History , Growth, and Present Position. By the 
Rev. Professor Bryce, Principal of Manitoba College, Winnipeg. 
Crown 8vo, with Illustrations and Maps, 7 s. 6d. 

Markham (C. R.) The Threshold of the Unknown Region. 

Crown 8vo, with Four Maps, 4th Edition. Cloth extra, ioj. 6 d. 

Markham (C. R.) War between Peru a fid Chili, 1879-1881. 

Crown 8vo, with four Maps, &c. [fn preparation. 

Marshall ( W. G.) Through America. New Edition, crown 

8vo, with about 100 Illustrations, *js. 6d. 

Marlin {ff . W.) Float Fishing and Spinning in the Nottingham 

Style. Crown Svo, 2s. 6d. 

Marvin ( Charles ) The Russian Advance towards Lndia. 
Svo, 1 6s. 


20 


Sampson Lo 7 v, Mars ton, 6° Co.'s 


Maury ( Commander ) Physical Geography of the Sea, and its 
Meteorology. Being a Reconstruction and Enlargement of his former 
Work, with Charts and Diagrams. New Edition, crown 8vo, 6.r. 

Memoirs of Madame de Remusat, 1802 — 1808. By her Grand- 
son, M. Paul de Remusat, Senator. Translated by Mrs. Cashel 
Hoey and Mr. John Lillie. 4th Edition, cloth extra. This 
work was written by Madame de Remusat during the time she 
was living on the most intimate terms with the Empress Josephine, 
and is full of revelations respecting the private life of Bonaparte, and 
of men and politics of the first years of the century. Revelations 
which have already created a great sensation in Paris. 8vo, 2 vols., 32 s . 

See also “ Selection.” 

Menus (366, one for each day of the year). Each Menu is given 
in French and English, with the recipe for making every dish 
mentioned. Translated from the French of Count Brisse, by Mrs. 
Matthew Clarice. Crown 8vo, 5^. 

Men of Mark : a Gallery of Contemporary Portraits of the most 
Eminent Men of the Day taken from Life, especially for this publica- 
tion, price is . 6 d . monthly. Vols. I. to VII., handsomely bound, 
cloth, gilt edges, 25 s . each. 

Mendelssolui Family {The), 1729 — 1847. From Letters and 
Journals. Translated from the German of Sebastian Hensel. 
3rd Edition, 2 vols., demy 8vo, 30J. 

Michael Strogoff. See Verne. 

Mitford (Miss). See “ Our Village.” 

Modern Etchings of Celebrated Paintings . 4to, 31J. 6 d. 

Mollett (J. W.) Illustrated Dictionary of Words used in Art 
and Archaeology. Small 4to, 15*. ' 

Mcrley ( H .) English Literature in the Reign of Victoria. The 
2000th volume of the Tauchnitz Collection of Authors. i8mo, 2s . 6 d . 

Music. See “ Great Musicians.” 

ATARRATIVES of State Trials in the Nineteenth Century. 

1 v First Period : From the Union with Ireland to the Death of 

George IV., 1801 — 1830. By G. Lathom Browne, of the Middle Temple, 

Barrister-at-Law. 2nd Edition, 2 vols., crown 8vo, cloth, 26 s . 

Nature and Functions of Art (The) ; and more especially of 
Architecture. By Leopold Eidlitz. Medium 8vo, cloth, 2 is . 

Naval Brigade in South Afiica (The). By Henry F. Nor- 
bury, C.B., R.N. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, ioj. 6 d . 


List of Publications. 


21 


New Child's Play (A). Sixteen Drawings by E. V. B. Beauti- 

fully printed in colours, 4to, cloth extra, I2 j. 6d. 

Newfoundland. By Fraser Rae. See “From Newfound- 
land.” 

New Novels . Crown 8vo, cloth, iol 6 d. per vol. : — 

The Granvilles. By the Hon. E. Talbot. 3 vols. 

One of Us. By E. RANDOLPH. 

Weighed and Wanting. By George Mac Donald. 3 vols. 
Castle Warlock. By George Mac Donald. 3 vols. 

Under the Downs. By E. Gilliat. 3 vols. 

A Stranger in a Strange Land. By Lady Clay. 3 vols. 

The Heart of Erin. By Miss Owens Blackburn. 3 vols. 

A Chelsea Householder. 3 vols. 

Two on a Tower. By Thomas Hardy. 3 vols. 

The Lady Maud. By W. Clark Russell. 3 vols. 

Nice and Her Neighbours. By the Rev. Canon Hole, Authoi 
of “A Book about Roses,” “ A Little Tour in Ireland,” &c. Small 
4to, with numerous choice Illustrations, I2.r. 6 d. 

Noah's Ark. A Contribution to the Study of Unnatural History. 
By Phil Robinson. Small post 8vo, 12s. 6 d. 

Noble Words and Noble Deeds. From the French of E. Muller. 
Containing many Full-page Illustrations by Philippoteaux. Square 
imperial i6mo, cloth extra, 7 s. 6d. ; plainer binding, plain edges, 5.?. 

Nordenskiold's Voyage around Asia and Europe. A Popular 
Account of the North-East Passage of the “Vega.” By Lieut. A. 
Hovgaard, of the Royal Danish Navy, and member of the “ Vega” 
Expedition. 8vo, with about 50 Illustrations and 3 Maps, 2 is. 

Nordhoff (C.) California, for Health , Pleasure , and Residence. 
New Edition, 8vo, with Maps and Illustrations, 12 s. 6 d. 

Nothing to Wear ; and Two Millions. By W. A. Butler. 
New Edition. Small post 8vo, in stiff coloured wrapper, is. 

Nursery Playmates {Prince of ). 217 Coloured Pictures for 

Children by eminent Artists. Folio, in coloured boards, 6s. 

NjFF to the Wilds: A Story for Boys. By G. Manville 
Fenn. Profusely Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 7 s. 6 d. 

Old-Fashioned Girl. See Alcott. 

On Horseback through Asia Minor. By Capt. Fred Burnaby. 

2 vols., 8vo, 38^. Cheaper Edition, crown 8vo, ioj. 6d. 

Our Little Ones in Heaven. Edited by the Rev. H. Robbins. 
With Frontispiece after Sir Joshua Reynolds. Fcap., cloth extra, 
New Edition— the 3rd, with Illustrations, 5*. 


22 


Sampson Low , Marston , #■» 


6Lr Village. By Mary Russell Mitford. Illustrated with 
Frontispiece Steel Engraving, and 12 full-page and 157 smaller Cuts. 
Crown 4to, cloth, gilt edges, 21 s.; cheaper binding, ioj. 6 d. 

Our Woodland Trees. By F. G. Heath. Large post 8vo, 
cloth, gilt edges, uniform with “Fern World ” and “ Fern Paradise/'' 
by the same Author. 8 Coloured Plates (showing leaves of every 
British Tree) and 20 Woodcuts, cloth, gilt edges, 1 2 s. 6 d. New 
Edition. About 600 pages. 

Outlines of Ornament in all Styles. A Work of Reference for 
the Architect, Art Manufacturer, Decorative Artist, and Practical 
Painter. By W. and G. A. Audsley, Fellows of the Royal Institute 
of British Architects. Only a limited number have been printed and 
the stones destroyed. Small folio, 60 plates, with introductory text, 
cloth gilt, 31L 6 d. 

JOALLISER (Afrs.) A Histoiy of Lace , from the Earliest 

■*- Period. A New and Revised Edition, with additional cuts and text, 
upwards of 100 Illustrations and coloured Designs. 1 vol., 8vo, it. is. 

• Historic Devices , Badges , a?id War Cries. 8vo, 1 /. is. 

The China Collector's Pocket Companion. With up- 
wards of 1000 Illustrations of Marks and Monograms. 2nd Edition, 
with Additions. Small post 8vo, limp cloth, 5^. 

Pathways of Palestine : a Descriptive Tour through the Holy 
Land. By the Rev. Canon Tristram. Illustrated with 44 per- 
manent Photographs. (The Photographs are large, and most perfect 
Specimens of the Art.) Vols. I. and II., folio, gilt edges, 3U. 6 d. 
each. 

Peasant Life in the West of England. By Francis George 
Heath, Author of “ Sylvan Spring/’ “The Fern World.” Crown 
8vo, 400 pp. (with Facsimile of Autograph Letter from Lord 
Beaconsheld to the Author, written December 28, 1880), ioj. 6 d. 

Petites Legons de Conversation et de Grammaire : Oral and 
Conversational Method ; the most Useful Topics of Conversation. 
By F. J ulien. Cloth, 3.?. 6 d. 

Photography (. History and Handbook of). See Tissandier. 

Physical 1'reatise on Electricity a?id Magnetism. By J. E. H. 
Gordon, B.A. With about 200 coloured, full-page, and other 
Illustrations. 2 vols., 8vo. New Edition. [In preparation. 

Poems of the Lmier Life. Chiefly from Modern Authors. 

Small 8vo, 5 s. 

Poganuc People: their Loves and Lives. By Mrs. Beecher 
Stowe. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6 s. 


List of Publications. 


2 


Polar Expeditions. See Koldewey, Markham, MacGaiian, 
Nares, and Nordenskiold. 

Poynter ( Edward P.A.). See “ Illustrated Text-books.” 

Prudence : a Story of a E sthetic London. By Lucy E. Lillie. 
Small 8 vo, 5 j. 

Publishers’ Circular {The), and General Recoi'd of British and 
Foreign Literature. Published on the 1st and 15th of every Month, 3 d. 
Pyrenees {The). By Henry Blackburn. With 100 Illustra- 
tions by Gustave Dor£, corrected to 1881. Crown 8vo, 7 s. 6 d. 


J^E (E) Newfoundland. 


See “ From.” 


Redford {G.) Ancient Sculpture. Crown 8vo, 5 a 

Reid {T. W.) Land of the Bey. Post 8vo, jos. 6 d. 

Remusat {Madame de). See u Memoirs of,” “ Selection.” 

Richter {Jean Paul). The Literary Works of Leonardo da 
Vinci. Containing his Writings on Painting, Sculpture, and Archi- 
tecture, his Philosophical Maxims, Humorous Writings, and Miscel- 
laneous Notes on Personal Events, on his Contemporaries, on Litera- 
ture, & c. ; for the first time published from Autograph Manuscripts. 
By J. P. Richter, Ph.Dr., Hon. Member of the Royal and Imperial 
Academy of Rome, &c. 2 vols., imperial 8vo, containing about 200 

Drawings in Autotype Reproductions, and numerous other Illustrations. 
Price Eight Guineas to Subscribers. After publication the price will 
be Twelve Guineas. 


Ltalian Art in the National Gallery. 4to. Illustrated. 

Cloth gilt, 2/. 2 s.; half-morocco, uncut, 2L 12 s. 6 d. 

Robmson {Phil). See “ In my Indian Garden,” “ Under the 

Punkah,” “Noah’s Ark,” “ Sinners and Saints.” 

Rose {J.) Complete Practical Machinist. New Edition, 12 mo, 

12s. 6d. 

Rose Library ( The). Popular Literature of all Countries. Each 
volume, ij-. ; cloth, 2s. 6 d. Many of the Volumes are Illustrated — 
Little Women. By Louisa M. Alcott. 

Little Women Wedded. Forming a Sequel to “ Little Women.” 
Little Men. By L. M. Alcott. Dble. vo!., 2 s . ; cloth gilt, 3a 6d. 
An Old-Fashioned Girl. By Louisa M. Alcott. Double vol., 
2s. ; cloth, 3J-. 6d. 

Work. A Story of Experience. By L. M. Alcott. 

Beginning- Again. Sequel to “Work.” By L. M. Alcott. 
Stowe (Mrs. H. B.) The Pearl of Orr’s Island. 

The Minister’s Wooing-. 


24 


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The Story of Helen Troy. 

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Russell ( W. Clark) The Lady Maud. 3 vols., crown 8vo, 

31J. bd. 

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Russell (W. A/., LL.D.) Hesperothen: Notes from the Western 
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Canada, and the Far West, in the Spring and Summer of 1881. By 
W. H. Russell, LL.D. 2 vols., crown 8vo, cloth, 24 s. 

- The Tour of the Prince of Wales in Lndia. By 

W. H. Russell, LL.D. Fully Illustrated by Sydney P. Halt., 
M.A. Super- royal 8vo, cloth extra, gilt edges, 52 s. bd.; Large 
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Russian Literature. See “Turner.” 


List of Publications. 


25 


(TAINTS and their Symbols : A Companion in the Churches 
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cloth extra, 3J. 6d. 


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Schuyler (Eugene). The Life of Peter the Great. By Eugene 
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[/;/ preparation. 

Scott (Leader) Renaissance of Art in Italy. 4to, 31J. 6 d. 

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Seonee : Sporting in the Satpura Range of Central India, and in 
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“The book is admirable in every way We wish it every success.”— Globe. 

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Eighteen Sermons preached in Christ Church, Hampstead, by the 
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Sinners and Saints: a Tour across the United States of 

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Sir Roger de Coverley. Re-imprinted from the “Spectator.” 
With 125 Woodcuts, and steel Frontispiece specially designed and 
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26 


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Smith (G.) Assyria n Explorations and Discoveries. By the late 
George Smith. Illustrated by Photographs and Woodcuts. Deiny 
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The Chaldean Account of Genesis. By the late G. 

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Smith (J. Moyr ). See “Ancient Greek Female Costume.” 

Snow-Shoes and Canoes; or , the Adventures of a Fur- Hunter 
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South Kensington Museum. Vol. II., 215. 

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Stanley (H. M.) How 1 Found Livingstone. Crown 8vo, cloth 
extra, 7s. 6 d. ; large Paper Edition, ioj. 6 d. 

“ My Kaluluf Prince , King , and Slave. A Story 

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Coomassie and Magdala. A Story of Two British 

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Through the Dark Continent. Cheaper Edition, 

crown 8vo, 12 s. 6 d. 

State Dials. See “ Narratives.” 

Stenhouse (Mrs.) An Englishzuoman in Utah. Crown 8vo, 2 s. 6 d. 

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Stozae (Mrs. Beecher) Dred. Cheap Edition, boards, 2 s. Cloth, 

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List of Publications. 


27 


Stove (. Mrs Beecher) Footsteps of the Master. With Illustrations 

and red borders. Small post 8vo, cloth extra, 6s. 

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Our Folks at Poganuc. 6s. 

We and our Neighbours. 1 vol., small post Svo, 6s. 

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Cheap Edition, is. 6d. and 2s. 

Queer Little People, is. ; cloth, 2s. 

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Student's French Examiner. By F. Julten, Author of “ Petites 
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Studies in the Theory of Descent. By Dr. Aug. Weismann, 
Professor in the University of Freiburg. Translated and edited by 
Raphael Meldola, F.C.S., Secretary of the Entomological Society 
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containing Original Communications by Mr. W. H. Edwards, of 
Coalburgh. With two Coloured Plates. Price of Part. I. (to Sub- 
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Surgeon's Handbook on the Treatment of Wounded in War. By 
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* See also Rose Library. 


28 


Sampson Low , Marston, &* Co.’s 


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Vol. 1. The Ancient Regime. Demy 8vo, cloth, i6j. 

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Vol. 3. Do. do. Vol. 2. do. 


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{B.) German and English Dictionary. Cloth, is. 6d.; 


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French and English Dictionary. Paper, is. 6d. ; 

cloth, 2 s. ; roan, 2s. 6d. 


Italian and English Dictionary. Paper, is. 6d.; cloth, 

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Taylor (IV. Mi) Paul the Missionary. Crown 8 vo, 7 s. 6d. 

Thausing (Prof.) Preparation of Malt and the Fabrication of 

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Thompson (Emma) Wit and Wisdom of Don Quixote . Fcap. 

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Through the Dark Continent : The Sources of the Nile; Around 
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Cheap Edition, crown 8vo, with some of the Illustrations and Maps, 
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29 


Through Siberia. By the Rev. Henry Lansdell. Illustrated 
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Tour of the Prince of Wales in India. See Russell. 

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St. John. 

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CELEBRATED TRAVELS and TRAVELLERS, s Vols., Demy 

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/. The Exploration of the World. 

II. The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century. 

III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century. 


The letters appended to each book refer to the various Editions and Prices 
given at the foot of the page. 

a e TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. 
ae HECTOR SERVADAC. 
ae THE FUR COUNTRY. 

af FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, AND A TRIP 
ROUND IT. 

ae MICHAEL STROGOFF, THE COURIER OF THE CZAR. 
a e DICK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN. 
bed FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON. 

bed ADVENTURES OF THREE ENGLISHMEN AND THREE 
RUSSIANS. 

bed AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. 

. ( dA FLOATING CITY. 

UTHE BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 

( , { DR. OX’S EXPERIMENT. 

I MASTER ZACHARIUS. 

A DRAMA IN THE AIR. 

A WINTER AMID THE ICE. 

WTHE SURVIVORS OF THE “ CHANCELLOR.” 
(tZMARTIN PAZ. 
bed THE CHILD OF THE CAVERN. 

THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, 3 Vols. 
bed I. DROPPED FROM THE CLOUDS. 
bed II. ABANDONED. 
bed III. SECRET OF THE ISLAND. 
b c THE BEGUM’S FORTUNE. 
be THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN. 

THE STEAM HOUSE, 2 Vols. 
be I. DEMON OF CAWNPORE. 
b c II. TIGERS AND TRAITORS. 

THE GIANT RAFT, 2 Vols.:— 
b I. EIGHT HUNDRED LEAGUES ON THE AMAZON. 
b II. THE CRYPTOGRAM. 
b GODFREY MORGAN. 

THE GREEN RAY, &c., &c. 


be 


be 


d 


a Small 8vo, very numerous Illustrations, handsomely hound in cloth, with gilt 
edges, 10». 6 d . ; ditto, plainer binding, 5s. 

b Large imperial 16mo, very numerous Illustrations, handsomely bound in cloth, 
with gilt edges, 7s. 6ti. 

c Diito, plainer binding, 3s. 6tZ. 

d Cheaper Edition, 1 Vol., paper boards, with some of the Illustrations, Is. ; bound 
in cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 

e Cheaper Edition as (d), in 2 Vols., Is. each ; bound in cloth, gilt edges, 1 Vol., 
3s. 6 d. 

/ Same as (<?), except in cloth, 2 Vols., gilt edges, 2s. each. 


Sampson Low, Mars ton, 6° Co.’s List of Publications. 31 


7 TZAITARUNA : A Story of New Zealand Life. By 

V * Alexander Bathgate, Author of “Colonial Experiences.” 
Crown 8vo, cloth, 5J. 

Waller {Rev. C. Hi) The Names on the Gates of Pearl ’ 
and other Studies. By the Rev. C. H. Waller, M.A. New 
Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d. 

A Grammar and Analytical Vocabulary of the Words in 

the Greek Testament. Compiled from Briider’s Concordance. For 
the use of Divinity Students and Greek Testament Classes. By the 
Rev. C. H. Waller, M.A. Part T. The Grammar. Small post 8vo, 
cloth, is. 6 d. Part II. The Vocabulary, is. 6 d. 

Adoption and the Covenant. Some Thoughts on 

Confirmation. Super-royal i6mo, cloth limp, is. 6 d. 

See also “ Silver Sockets.” 

Wanderings South by East : a Descriptive Record of Four Years 
of Travel in the less known Countries and Islands of the Southern 
and Eastern Hemispheres. By Walter Coote. 8vo, with very 
numerous Illustrations and a Map, 21s. 

Warner (C. D.) Back-log Studies. Boards, I*. 6d. ; cloth, 2 s. 

Mummies and Moslems . 8vo, cloth, 125“. 

Washington Irving 1 s Little Britain. Square crown Svo, 6s. 

Weaving. See “ History and Principles.” 

Webster. (American Men of Letters.) i8mo, is. 6d. 

Weismann (A.) Studies in the Theory of Descent. 2 vols., Svo, 

40J. 

Where to Find Ferns. By F. G. Heath, Author of “The 
P'ern World,” &c. ; with a Special Chapter on the Ferns round 
London ; Lists of Fern Stations, and Descriptions of Ferns and Fern 
Habitats throughout the British Isles. Crown 8vo, cloth, price 3s. 

White (Rlioda E.) From Infancy to Womanhood. A Book of 

Instruction for Young Mothers. Crown Svo, cloth, ioj. 6d. 

White (R. G.) England Without and Within. New Edition, 

crown Svo, icw. 6d. 

Whittier (J. G.) The Xing’s Missive , and later Poems. i8mo, 
choice parchment cover, 3*. 6 d. This book contains all the Poems 
written by Mr. Whittier since the publication of “ Plazel Blossoms.” 

The Whittle ? Birthday Book. Extracts from the 

Author’s writings, with Portrait and numerous Illustrations. Uniform 
with the “Emerson Birthday Book.” Square 161110, very choice 
binding. 3-f. 0 d. 


32 Sampson Low, Mars ton, <S° Co.’s List of Publications. 


Wild Flowers of Szoitzerland. 17 Coloured Plates. 4to. 

\_In preparation . 

Williams (H. W.) Diseases of the Eye. 8vo, 21 s. 

Wills, A Few Hints on Proving, without Professional Assistance. 
By a Probate Court Official. 5th Edition, revised with Forms 
of Wills, Residuary Accounts, &c. Fcap. 8vo, cloth limp, is. 

Winks ( W. E.) Lives of Lllustrious Shoemakers. With eight 
Portraits. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. 

With Axe and Rifle on the Western Prairies. By W. H. G. 
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extra, gilt edges, *js. 6d. ; plainer binding, 55. 

U'oolsey (C. D., LL.Dl) Lntroduction to the Study of Inter- 
national Law ; designed as an Aid in Teaching and in Historical 
Studies. 5th Edition, demy 8vo, i8j. 

Wreck of the Grosvenor. By W. Clark Russell, Author of 
“John Holdsworth, Chief Mate,” “A Sailor’s Sweetheart,” &c. 6s. 
Third and Cheaper Edition. 

Wright ( the late Rev. Henry ) The Friendship of God. With 
Biographical Preface by the Rev. E. H. Bickersteth, Portrait, 
&c. Crown 8vo, 6 j. 


T/ r RIARTE ( Charles ) Florence : its LListory. Translated by 
C. B. Pitman. Illustrated with 500 Engravings. Large imperial 
4to, extra binding, gilt edges, 63s. 

History ; the Medici ; the Humanists ; letters ; arts ; the Renaissance ; 
illustrious Florentines ; Etruscan art; monuments; sculpture; painting. 


7S0 A 


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